1curs_color(3X)                                                  curs_color(3X)
2
3
4

NAME

6       start_color, has_colors, can_change_color, init_pair, init_color,
7       init_extended_pair, init_extended_color, color_content, pair_content,
8       extended_color_content, extended_pair_content, reset_color_pairs,
9       COLOR_PAIR, PAIR_NUMBER - curses color manipulation routines
10

SYNOPSIS

12       #include <curses.h>
13
14       int start_color(void);
15
16       bool has_colors(void);
17       bool can_change_color(void);
18
19       int init_pair(short pair, short f, short b);
20       int init_color(short color, short r, short g, short b);
21       /* extensions */
22       int init_extended_pair(int pair, int f, int b);
23       int init_extended_color(int color, int r, int g, int b);
24
25       int color_content(short color, short *r, short *g, short *b);
26       int pair_content(short pair, short *f, short *b);
27       /* extensions */
28       int extended_color_content(int color, int *r, int *g, int *b);
29       int extended_pair_content(int pair, int *f, int *b);
30
31       /* extensions */
32       void reset_color_pairs(void);
33
34       int COLOR_PAIR(int n);
35       PAIR_NUMBER(attrs);
36

DESCRIPTION

38   Overview
39       curses supports color attributes on terminals with that capability.  To
40       use  these  routines  start_color  must  be called, usually right after
41       initscr.  Colors are always used in pairs (referred to as color-pairs).
42       A  color-pair  consists  of  a  foreground color (for characters) and a
43       background color (for the blank field on which the characters are  dis‐
44       played).   A  programmer  initializes  a  color-pair  with  the routine
45       init_pair.  After it has been initialized, COLOR_PAIR(n) can be used to
46       convert the pair to a video attribute.
47
48       If  a  terminal is capable of redefining colors, the programmer can use
49       the routine init_color to change the definition of a color.   The  rou‐
50       tines  has_colors  and can_change_color return TRUE or FALSE, depending
51       on whether the terminal has color capabilities and whether the program‐
52       mer can change the colors.  The routine color_content allows a program‐
53       mer to extract the amounts of red, green, and  blue  components  in  an
54       initialized  color.   The  routine  pair_content allows a programmer to
55       find out how a given color-pair is currently defined.
56
57   Color Rendering
58       The curses library combines these inputs to produce  the  actual  fore‐
59       ground and background colors shown on the screen:
60
61       ·   per-character video attributes (e.g., via waddch),
62
63       ·   the window attribute (e.g., by wattrset), and
64
65       ·   the background character (e.g., wbkgdset).
66
67       Per-character and window attributes are usually set by a parameter con‐
68       taining video attributes including a color pair value.  Some  functions
69       such as wattr_set use a separate parameter which is the color pair num‐
70       ber.
71
72       The background character is a special case:  it  includes  a  character
73       value, just as if it were passed to waddch.
74
75       The  curses library does the actual work of combining these color pairs
76       in an internal function called from waddch:
77
78       ·   If the parameter passed to waddch is blank, and it uses the special
79           color pair 0,
80
81           ·   curses next checks the window attribute.
82
83           ·   If  the window attribute does not use color pair 0, curses uses
84               the color pair from the window attribute.
85
86           ·   Otherwise, curses uses the background character.
87
88       ·   If the parameter passed to waddch is not blank, or it does not  use
89           the  special  color  pair 0, curses prefers the color pair from the
90           parameter, if it is nonzero.  Otherwise, it tries  the  window  at‐
91           tribute next, and finally the background character.
92
93       Some  curses  functions such as wprintw call waddch.  Those do not com‐
94       bine its parameter with a color pair.  Consequently those calls use on‐
95       ly the window attribute or the background character.
96

CONSTANTS

98       In <curses.h> the following macros are defined.  These are the standard
99       colors (ISO-6429).  curses also assumes that COLOR_BLACK is the default
100       background color for all terminals.
101
102             COLOR_BLACK
103             COLOR_RED
104             COLOR_GREEN
105             COLOR_YELLOW
106             COLOR_BLUE
107             COLOR_MAGENTA
108             COLOR_CYAN
109             COLOR_WHITE
110
111       Some  terminals  support  more than the eight (8) “ANSI” colors.  There
112       are no standard names for those additional colors.
113

VARIABLES

115   COLORS
116       is initialized by start_color to the maximum number of colors the  ter‐
117       minal can support.
118
119   COLOR_PAIRS
120       is  initialized by start_color to the maximum number of color pairs the
121       terminal can support.
122

FUNCTIONS

124   start_color
125       The start_color routine requires no arguments.  It must  be  called  if
126       the  programmer wants to use colors, and before any other color manipu‐
127       lation routine is called.  It is good practice  to  call  this  routine
128       right after initscr.  start_color does this:
129
130       ·   It  initializes  two  global variables, COLORS and COLOR_PAIRS (re‐
131           spectively defining the maximum number of  colors  and  color-pairs
132           the terminal can support).
133
134       ·   It  initializes  the special color pair 0 to the default foreground
135           and background colors.  No other color pairs are initialized.
136
137       ·   It restores the colors on the terminal to the values they had  when
138           the terminal was just turned on.
139
140       ·   If  the  terminal supports the initc (initialize_color) capability,
141           start_color initializes its internal table  representing  the  red,
142           green, and blue components of the color palette.
143
144           The components depend on whether the terminal uses CGA (aka “ANSI”)
145           or HLS (i.e.,  the  hls  (hue_lightness_saturation)  capability  is
146           set).   The  table  is  initialized  first  for  eight basic colors
147           (black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white),  using
148           weights that depend upon the CGA/HLS choice.  For “ANSI” colors the
149           weights are 680 or 0 depending on whether  the  corresponding  red,
150           green,  or  blue component is used or not.  That permits using 1000
151           to represent bold/bright colors.  After the  initial  eight  colors
152           (if  the  terminal  supports more than eight colors) the components
153           are initialized using the same pattern, but with weights  of  1000.
154           SVr4 uses a similar scheme, but uses 1000 for the components of the
155           initial eight colors.
156
157           start_color does not attempt to set the terminal's color palette to
158           match its built-in table.  An application may use init_color to al‐
159           ter the internal table along with the terminal's color.
160
161       These limits apply to color values and  color  pairs.   Values  outside
162       these limits are not legal, and may result in a runtime error:
163
164       ·   COLORS  corresponds to the terminal database's max_colors capabili‐
165           ty, (see terminfo(5)).
166
167       ·   color values are expected to be in the range 0 to COLORS-1,  inclu‐
168           sive (including 0 and COLORS-1).
169
170       ·   a  special  color value -1 is used in certain extended functions to
171           denote the default color (see use_default_colors(3X)).
172
173       ·   COLOR_PAIRS corresponds to the terminal database's max_pairs  capa‐
174           bility, (see terminfo(5)).
175
176       ·   legal color pair values are in the range 1 to COLOR_PAIRS-1, inclu‐
177           sive.
178
179       ·   color pair 0 is special; it denotes “no color”.
180
181           Color pair 0 is assumed to be white on black, but is actually what‐
182           ever  the terminal implements before color is initialized.  It can‐
183           not be modified by the application.
184
185   has_colors
186       The has_colors routine requires no arguments.  It returns TRUE  if  the
187       terminal can manipulate colors; otherwise, it returns FALSE.  This rou‐
188       tine facilitates writing terminal-independent programs.  For example, a
189       programmer  can  use  it  to  decide whether to use color or some other
190       video attribute.
191
192   can_change_color
193       The can_change_color routine requires no arguments.  It returns TRUE if
194       the  terminal  supports colors and can change their definitions; other,
195       it returns FALSE.  This routine facilitates  writing  terminal-indepen‐
196       dent programs.
197
198   init_pair
199       The init_pair routine changes the definition of a color-pair.  It takes
200       three arguments: the number of the color-pair to be changed, the  fore‐
201       ground color number, and the background color number.  For portable ap‐
202       plications:
203
204       ·   The first argument must be a legal color pair  value.   If  default
205           colors are used (see use_default_colors(3X)) the upper limit is ad‐
206           justed to allow for extra pairs which use a default color in  fore‐
207           ground and/or background.
208
209       ·   The second and third arguments must be legal color values.
210
211       If  the  color-pair was previously initialized, the screen is refreshed
212       and all occurrences of that color-pair are changed to the  new  defini‐
213       tion.
214
215       As  an  extension,  ncurses  allows you to set color pair 0 via the as‐
216       sume_default_colors(3X) routine, or to specify the use of default  col‐
217       ors  (color  number  -1) if you first invoke the use_default_colors(3X)
218       routine.
219
220   init_extended_pair
221       Because init_pair uses signed shorts for its  parameters,  that  limits
222       color-pairs  and  color-values to 32767 on modern hardware.  The exten‐
223       sion init_extended_pair uses ints for the color-pair  and  color-value,
224       allowing a larger number of colors to be supported.
225
226   init_color
227       The  init_color  routine  changes  the definition of a color.  It takes
228       four arguments: the number of the color to be changed followed by three
229       RGB values (for the amounts of red, green, and blue components).
230
231       ·   The  first argument must be a legal color value; default colors are
232           not allowed here.  (See the section Colors for  the  default  color
233           index.)
234
235       ·   Each  of  the  last  three arguments must be a value in the range 0
236           through 1000.
237
238       When init_color is used, all occurrences of that color  on  the  screen
239       immediately change to the new definition.
240
241   init_extended_color
242       Because  init_color  uses signed shorts for its parameters, that limits
243       color-values and their red, green, and blue components to 32767 on mod‐
244       ern hardware.  The extension init_extended_color uses ints for the col‐
245       or value and for setting the red, green, and blue components,  allowing
246       a larger number of colors to be supported.
247
248   color_content
249       The color_content routine gives programmers a way to find the intensity
250       of the red, green, and blue (RGB) components in a color.   It  requires
251       four  arguments:  the  color  number, and three addresses of shorts for
252       storing the information about the amounts of red, green, and blue  com‐
253       ponents in the given color.
254
255       ·   The  first  argument  must  be a legal color value, i.e., 0 through
256           COLORS-1, inclusive.
257
258       ·   The values that are stored at the addresses pointed to by the  last
259           three  arguments  are  in  the  range 0 (no component) through 1000
260           (maximum amount of component), inclusive.
261
262   extended_color_content
263       Because color_content uses signed shorts for its parameters, that  lim‐
264       its  color-values and their red, green, and blue components to 32767 on
265       modern hardware.  The extension extended_color_content  uses  ints  for
266       the  color value and for returning the red, green, and blue components,
267       allowing a larger number of colors to be supported.
268
269   pair_content
270       The pair_content routine allows programmers to find out what  colors  a
271       given  color-pair consists of.  It requires three arguments: the color-
272       pair number, and two addresses of shorts for storing the foreground and
273       the background color numbers.
274
275       ·   The  first argument must be a legal color value, i.e., in the range
276           1 through COLOR_PAIRS-1, inclusive.
277
278       ·   The values that are stored at the addresses pointed to by the  sec‐
279           ond  and  third arguments are in the range 0 through COLORS, inclu‐
280           sive.
281
282   extended_pair_content
283       Because pair_content uses signed shorts for its parameters, that limits
284       color-pair and color-values to 32767 on modern hardware.  The extension
285       extended_pair_content uses ints for the color pair  and  for  returning
286       the  foreground and background colors, allowing a larger number of col‐
287       ors to be supported.
288
289   reset_color_pairs
290       The extension reset_color_pairs tells ncurses to  discard  all  of  the
291       color-pair  information  which was set with init_pair.  It also touches
292       the current- and standard-screens, allowing an  application  to  switch
293       color palettes rapidly.
294
295   PAIR_NUMBER
296       PAIR_NUMBER(attrs)  extracts  the  color value from its attrs parameter
297       and returns it as a color pair number.
298
299   COLOR_PAIR
300       Its inverse COLOR_PAIR(n) converts a color pair number to an attribute.
301       Attributes  can  hold color pairs in the range 0 to 255.  If you need a
302       color pair larger than that, you must use functions  such  as  attr_set
303       (which  pass  the  color  pair as a separate parameter) rather than the
304       legacy functions such as attrset.
305

RETURN VALUE

307       The routines can_change_color and has_colors return TRUE or FALSE.
308
309       All other routines return the integer ERR upon failure and an OK  (SVr4
310       specifies  only “an integer value other than ERR”) upon successful com‐
311       pletion.
312
313       X/Open defines no error conditions.  SVr4 does document some error con‐
314       ditions which apply in general:
315
316       ·   This implementation will return ERR on attempts to use color values
317           outside the range 0 to COLORS-1 (except for the default colors  ex‐
318           tension), or use color pairs outside the range 0 to COLOR_PAIRS-1.
319
320           Color values used in init_color must be in the range 0 to 1000.
321
322           An  error  is  returned  from all functions if the terminal has not
323           been initialized.
324
325           An error is returned from secondary functions such as init_pair  if
326           start_color was not called.
327
328       ·   SVr4  does much the same, except that it returns ERR from pair_con‐
329           tent if the pair was not initialized using init_pairs  and  it  re‐
330           turns  ERR  from  color_content  if  the  terminal does not support
331           changing colors.
332
333           This implementation does not return ERR for either case.
334
335       Specific functions make additional checks:
336
337          init_color
338               returns an error if the terminal does not support this feature,
339               e.g.,  if  the  initialize_color  capability is absent from the
340               terminal description.
341
342          start_color
343               returns an error if the color table cannot be allocated.
344

NOTES

346       In the ncurses implementation, there is  a  separate  color  activation
347       flag,  color palette, color pairs table, and associated COLORS and COL‐
348       OR_PAIRS counts for each screen; the start_color function only  affects
349       the current screen.  The SVr4/XSI interface is not really designed with
350       this in mind, and historical implementations may use  a  single  shared
351       color palette.
352
353       Setting  an  implicit  background  color  via a color pair affects only
354       character cells that a character write  operation  explicitly  touches.
355       To  change the background color used when parts of a window are blanked
356       by erasing or scrolling operations, see curs_bkgd(3X).
357
358       Several caveats apply on older x86 machines  (e.g.,  i386,  i486)  with
359       VGA-compatible graphics:
360
361       ·   COLOR_YELLOW  is  actually  brown.  To get yellow, use COLOR_YELLOW
362           combined with the A_BOLD attribute.
363
364       ·   The A_BLINK attribute should in theory cause the background  to  go
365           bright.  This often fails to work, and even some cards for which it
366           mostly works (such as the Paradise and compatibles)  do  the  wrong
367           thing  when  you try to set a bright “yellow” background (you get a
368           blinking yellow foreground instead).
369
370       ·   Color RGB values are not settable.
371

PORTABILITY

373       This implementation satisfies XSI Curses's minimum maximums for  COLORS
374       and COLOR_PAIRS.
375
376       The  init_pair  routine accepts negative values of foreground and back‐
377       ground color to support the use_default_colors(3X) extension, but  only
378       if that routine has been first invoked.
379
380       The assumption that COLOR_BLACK is the default background color for all
381       terminals can be modified using  the  assume_default_colors(3X)  exten‐
382       sion.
383
384       This  implementation checks the pointers, e.g., for the values returned
385       by color_content and pair_content, and will treat those as optional pa‐
386       rameters when null.
387
388       X/Open  Curses  does  not  specify a limit for the number of colors and
389       color pairs which a terminal can support.  However, in its use of short
390       for  the  parameters,  it carries over SVr4's implementation detail for
391       the compiled terminfo database, which uses signed 16-bit numbers.  This
392       implementation  provides extended versions of those functions which use
393       short parameters, allowing applications to use larger color- and  pair-
394       numbers.
395
396       The reset_color_pairs function is an extension of ncurses.
397

SEE ALSO

399       curses(3X),  curs_initscr(3X),  curs_attr(3X),  curs_variables(3X), de‐
400       fault_colors(3X)
401
402
403
404                                                                curs_color(3X)
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