slk(3NCURSES) Library calls slk(3NCURSES)
NAME
slk_init, slk_set, slk_wset, slk_refresh, slk_noutrefresh, slk_label,
slk_clear, slk_restore, slk_touch, slk_attron, slk_attrset, slk_attroff,
slk_attr_on, slk_attr_set, slk_attr_off, slk_attr, slk_color,
extended_slk_color - curses soft label key routines
SYNOPSIS
#include <curses.h>
int slk_init(int fmt);
int slk_set(int labnum, const char *label, int align);
int slk_wset(int labnum, const wchar_t *label, int align);
char *slk_label(int labnum);
int slk_refresh(void);
int slk_noutrefresh(void);
int slk_clear(void);
int slk_restore(void);
int slk_touch(void);
int slk_attron(const chtype attrs);
int slk_attroff(const chtype attrs);
int slk_attrset(const chtype attrs);
int slk_attr_on(attr_t attrs, void *opts);
int slk_attr_off(const attr_t attrs, void *opts);
int slk_attr_set(const attr_t attrs, short pair, void*opts);
/* extension */
attr_t slk_attr(void);
int slk_color(short pair);
/* extension */
int extended_slk_color(int pair);
DESCRIPTION
These functions manipulate the soft function key labels that some hard-
ware terminals support. For those terminals that do not have soft la-
bels, curses takes over the bottom line of stdscr, reducing its vertical
size and the value of LINES by one. By default, curses uses eight la-
bels of up to eight characters each.
ncurses furthermore supports a mode comprising twelve labels of up to
five characters each, following a convention associated with the IBM
PC/AT keyboard. ncurses simulates this mode by taking over up to two
lines at the bottom of the screen; it does not try to use any hardware
support for this mode.
Initialization
slk_init must be called before initscr or newterm. If initscr eventu-
ally uses a line from stdscr to emulate the soft labels, then fmt deter-
mines how the labels are arranged on the screen.
0 indicates a 3-2-3 arrangement of the labels.
1 indicates a 4-4 arrangement
2 indicates the PC-like 4-4-4 mode.
3 is again the PC-like 4-4-4 mode, but in addition an index line is
generated, helping the user to associate each label with its numbered
function key. LINES and the vertical size of stdscr are further re-
duced.
Labels
Populate the labels with normal strings (slk_set) or wide-character
strings (slk_wset). Each function takes three parameters.
labnum is the label number, from 1 to 8 (12 if fmt in slk_init is 2 or
3);
label is be the string to put on the label, up to eight (five if fmt
in slk_init is 2 or 3) characters in length. A empty string or
a null pointer sets up a blank label.
align is 0, 1, or 2, aligning label to the left, center, or right, re-
spectively, within the 8 (5) character cells housing it.
slk_label obtains the string assigned to label number labnum, with any
leading and trailing blanks stripped.
Screen Updates
slk_refresh and slk_noutrefresh affect the soft key label lines as
wrefresh and wnoutrefresh do the curses window.
The slk_clear routine clears the soft labels from the screen.
The slk_restore routine restores the soft labels to the screen after a
slk_clear has been performed.
The slk_touch routine forces all the soft labels to be output the next
time a slk_noutrefresh is performed.
Video Attributes
The slk_attron, slk_attrset, slk_attroff, and slk_attr routines corre-
spond to attron, attrset, attroff, and attr_get, respectively. They
have an effect only if soft labels are simulated on the bottom line of
the screen. The default highlight for soft key labels is A_STANDOUT (as
in System V curses, which does not document this fact).
Colors
The slk_color routine corresponds to color_set. It has an effect only
if soft labels are simulated on the bottom line of the screen.
Because slk_color accepts only short (signed 16-bit integer) values,
this implementation provides extended_slk_color, which accepts an int
value of at least 32 bits.
RETURN VALUE
Functions that return integers return ERR upon failure and OK upon suc-
cess.
In ncurses,
slk_attr
returns the attribute used for the soft keys.
slk_attroff, slk_attron, slk_clear, slk_noutrefresh, slk_refresh,
slk_touch
return ERR if the terminal or the softkeys were not initialized.
slk_attrset
returns ERR if the terminal or the softkeys were not initial-
ized.
slk_attr_set
returns ERR if the terminal or the softkeys were not initial-
ized, or the color pair is outside the range 0..COLOR_PAIRS-1.
slk_color
returns ERR if the terminal or the softkeys were not initial-
ized, or the color pair is outside the range 0..COLOR_PAIRS-1.
slk_init
returns ERR if the format parameter is outside the range 0..3.
slk_label
returns NULL on error.
slk_set
returns ERR if the terminal or the softkeys were not initial-
ized, or the labnum parameter is outside the range of label
counts, or if the format parameter is outside the range 0..2, or
if memory for the labels cannot be allocated.
NOTES
Most applications would use slk_noutrefresh because a wrefresh is likely
to follow soon.
EXTENSIONS
X/Open Curses documents the opts argument as reserved for future use,
saying that it must be a null pointer. The ncurses 6 ABI uses it for
the functions that accept a color pair parameter to support extended
color pairs.
For functions which modify the color, e.g., slk_attr_set, if opts is set
it is treated as a pointer to int, and used to set the color pair in-
stead of the short pair parameter.
PORTABILITY
X/Open Curses Issue 4 describes these functions. It specifies no error
conditions for them.
SVr4 describes a successful return value only as “an integer value other
than ERR”.
• X/Open added functions like the SVr4 attribute-manipulation func-
tions slk_attron, slk_attroff, and slk_attrset, but which use attr_t
parameters (rather than chtype), along with a reserved opts parame-
ter.
Two of these new functions (unlike the SVr4 functions) have no pro-
vision for color: slk_attr_on and slk_attr_off.
The third function (slk_attr_set) has a color pair parameter.
• It added const qualifiers to parameters (unnecessarily), and
• It added slk_color.
Although slk_start is declared in the curses header file, it was not
documented by SVr4 other than its presence in a list of libtermlib.so.1
symbols. Reading the source code (i.e., Illumos):
• slk_start has two parameters:
• ng (number of groups) and
• gp (group pointer).
• Soft-key groups are an array of ng integers.
• In SVr4, slk_init calls slk_start passing a null for gp. For this
case, slk_start uses the number of groups ng (3 for the 3-2-3 lay-
out, 2 for the 4-4 layout) which slk_init provided.
If ng is neither 2 or 3, slk_start checks the terminfo fln (la-
bel_format) capability, interpreting that as a comma-separated list
of numbers, e.g., “3,2,3” for the 3-2-3 layout.
Finally, if there is no fln capability, slk_start returns ERR.
• If slk_start is given a non-null gp, it copies the ng elements of
the group of soft-keys, up to 16.
If there are more than 16 elements, slk_start returns ERR.
• The format codes 2 and 3 for slk_init were added by ncurses in 1996.
PDCurses 2.4 added this feature in 2001.
The function slk_attr was added by ncurses in 1996.
X/Open Curses does not specify a limit for the number of colors and
color pairs which a terminal can support. However, in its use of short
for the parameters, it carries over SVr4's implementation detail for the
compiled terminfo database, which uses signed 16-bit numbers. This im-
plementation provides extended versions of those functions which use int
parameters, allowing applications to use larger color- and pair-numbers.
HISTORY
SVr3 introduced these functions:
slk_clear
slk_init
slk_label
slk_noutrefresh
slk_refresh
slk_restore
slk_set
slk_touch
SVr4 added these functions:
slk_attroff
slk_attron
slk_attrset
slk_start
X/Open Curses added these:
slk_attr_off
slk_attr_on
slk_attr_set
slk_color
slk_wset
SEE ALSO
ncurses(3NCURSES), attr(3NCURSES), initscr(3NCURSES), refresh(3NCURSES),
curses_variables(3NCURSES)
ncurses 6.5 2025-01-18 slk(3NCURSES)
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