inchstr(3NCURSES) Library calls inchstr(3NCURSES)
NAME
inchstr, inchnstr, winchstr, winchnstr, mvinchstr, mvinchnstr,
mvwinchstr, mvwinchnstr - get a curses character string from a window
SYNOPSIS
#include <curses.h>
int inchstr(chtype *chstr);
int inchnstr(chtype *chstr, int n);
int winchstr(WINDOW *win, chtype *chstr);
int winchnstr(WINDOW *win, chtype *chstr, int n);
int mvinchstr(int y, int x, chtype *chstr);
int mvinchnstr(int y, int x, chtype *chstr, int n);
int mvwinchstr(WINDOW *win, int y, int x, chtype *chstr);
int mvwinchnstr(WINDOW *win, int y, int x, chtype *chstr, int n);
DESCRIPTION
These routines return a NULL-terminated array of chtype quantities,
starting at the current cursor position in the named window and ending
at the right margin of the window.
The four functions with n as the last argument, return a leading sub-
string at most n characters long (exclusive of the trailing (chtype)0).
Transfer stops at the end of the current line, or when n characters have
been stored at the location referenced by chstr.
Constants defined in <curses.h> can be used with the & (logical “and”)
operator to extract the character or the attribute alone from any posi-
tion in the chstr [see inch(3NCURSES)].
RETURN VALUE
All routines return the integer ERR upon failure and an integer value
other than ERR upon successful completion (the number of characters re-
trieved, exclusive of the trailing 0).
X/Open Curses defines no error conditions. This implementation returns
ERR
• if the win parameter is null or
• if the chstr parameter is null.
Functions prefixed with “mv” first perform cursor movement and fail if
the position (y, x) is outside the window boundaries.
NOTES
All of these functions except winchnstr may be implemented as macros.
Reading a line that overflows the array pointed to by chstr with inch-
str, mvinchstr, mvwinchstr or winchstr causes undefined results. There-
fore, the use of inchnstr, mvinchnstr, mvwinchnstr, or winchnstr is rec-
ommended.
PORTABILITY
X/Open Curses Issue 4 describes these functions. It specifies no error
conditions for them. It characterizes the strings stored by these func-
tions as containing “at most n elements” from a window, but does not
specify whether the string stored by these functions is null-terminated.
SVr4 does not document whether it null-terminates the string it stores
in chstr, and does not document whether a trailing null character counts
toward the length limit n.
SVr4 describes a successful return value only as “an integer value other
than ERR”.
SEE ALSO
ncurses(3NCURSES), inch(3NCURSES), inwstr(3NCURSES), in_wchstr(3NCURSES)
ncurses 6.5 2025-02-15 inchstr(3NCURSES)
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