.. _spkg_ncurses:

ncurses: Classic terminal output library
========================================

Description
-----------

Ncurses (new curses, pronounced "enn-curses") started as a freely
distributable "clone" of System V Release 4.0 (SVr4) curses. It has
outgrown the "clone" description, and now contains many features which
are not in SVr4 curses. Curses is a pun on the term "cursor
optimization". It is a library of functions that manage an application's
display on character-cell terminals (e.g., VT100).

The name "ncurses" was first used as the name of the curses library in
Pavel Curtis's pcurses, dated 1982. It was apparently developed on a BSD
4.4 system, at Cornell. Parts of pcurses are readily identifiable in
ncurses, including the basics for the terminfo compiler (named compile
in that package):

-  the Caps, used to define the terminfo capabilities
-  awk scripts MKcaptab.awk, MKnames.awk
-  the library modules used for the terminfo compiler.

Besides ncurses, parts of pcurses still survive in 2010, in recognizable
form in Solaris.

Website: http://invisible-island.net/ncurses

License
-------

-  MIT-style


Upstream Contact
----------------

-  bug-ncurses@gnu.org

Dependencies
------------

None


Special Update/Build Instructions
---------------------------------

None

Type
----

standard


Version Information
-------------------

package-version.txt::

    6.0.p0


Equivalent System Packages
--------------------------

conda:

.. CODE-BLOCK:: bash

    $ conda install ncurses-devel

cygwin:

.. CODE-BLOCK:: bash

    $ apt-cyg install ncurses-devel

Debian/Ubuntu:

.. CODE-BLOCK:: bash

    $ sudo apt-get install  ncurses-devel

Fedora/Redhat/CentOS:

.. CODE-BLOCK:: bash

    $ sudo yum install  ncurses-devel

freebsd:

.. CODE-BLOCK:: bash

    $ sudo pkg install ncurses-devel

opensuse:

.. CODE-BLOCK:: bash

    $ sudo zypper install ncurses-devel

slackware:

.. CODE-BLOCK:: bash

    $ sudo slackpkg install ncurses-devel

void:

.. CODE-BLOCK:: bash

    $ sudo xbps-install  ncurses-devel

See https://repology.org/project/ncurses-devel/versions

If the system package is installed, ./configure will check whether it can be used.