tic

NAME

       tic - the terminfo entry-description compiler

SYNOPSIS

       tic [-v[n]] [-cpICNru] file

DESCRIPTION

       The  command  tic  translates  a terminfo file from source
       format into compiled format.  The compiled format is  nec-
       essary for use with the library routines in ncurses(3X).

       The  results  are  normally  placed in the system terminfo
       directory @TERMINFO@.  There are two ways to  change  this
       behavior.

       First,  you may override the system default by setting the
       variable TERMINFO in your shell  environment  to  a  valid
       (existing) directory name.

       Secondly,  if  tic cannot get access to @TERMINFO@ or your
       TERMINFO directory, it looks for the directory $HOME/.ter-
       minfo;  if  that  directory  exists,  the  entry is placed
       there.

       Libraries that read terminfo entries are expected to check
       for a TERMINFO directory first, look at $HOME/.terminfo if
       TERMINFO is not set, and finally look in @TERMINFO@.

       -c     specifies to only check file for errors,  including
              syntax  problems and bad use links.  If you specify
              -C (-I) with this option, the code will print warn-
              ings about entries which, after use resolution, are
              more than 1023 (4096) bytes long.  Due to  a  fixed
              buffer  length  in  older  termcap libraries (and a
              documented limit in terminfo),  these  entries  may
              cause core dumps.

       -vn    specifies that (verbose) output be written to stan-
              dard  error   trace   information   showing   tic's
              progress.   The optional integer n is a number from
              1 to 10, inclusive, indicating the desired level of
              detail  of  information.   If  n  is  omitted,  the
              default level is 1.  If n is specified and  greater
              than 1, the level of detail is increased.

       -I     Force source translation to terminfo format.

       -C     Force  source translation to termcap format.  Note:
              this differs from the -C option of  infocmp(1m)  in
              that it does not merely translate capability names,
              but also translates  terminfo  strings  to  termcap
              format.  Capabilities that are not translatable are
              left in the entry under their  terminfo  names  but
              commented out with two preceding dots.

       -N     Disable smart defaults.  Normally, when translating
              from termcap to terminfo, the compiler makes a num-
              ber  of  assumptions  about  the defaults of string
              capabilities reset1_string,  carriage_return,  cur-
              sor_left,  cursor_down,  scroll_forward,  tab, new-
              line, key_backspace, key_left, and  key_down,  then
              attempts  to  use  obsolete termcap capabilities to
              deduce correct values.  It also normally suppresses
              output of obsolete termcap capabilities such as bs.
              This option forces a more literal translation  that
              also preserves the obsolete capabilities.

       -Rsubset
              Restrict  output to a given subset.  This option is
              for use with  archaic  versions  of  terminfo  like
              those  on SVr1, Ultrix, or HP/UX that don't support
              the full set of SVR4/XSI Curses terminfo; and  out-
              right  broken  ports  like  AIX that have their own
              extensions incompatible with  SVr4/XSI.   Available
              subsets  are  "SVr1", "Ultrix", "HP", and AIX"; see
              terminfo(5) for details.

       -r     Force entry resolution (so there are  no  remaining
              tc  capabilities)  even  when  doing translation to
              termcap format.  This may  be  needed  if  you  are
              preparing  a  termcap  file  for  a termcap library
              (such as GNU termcap up to version 1.3 or BSD term-
              cap  up  to 4.3BSD) that doesn't handle multiple tc
              capabilities per entry.

       file   contains one or more terminfo terminal descriptions
              in  source format [see terminfo(5)].  Each descrip-
              tion in the file describes the  capabilities  of  a
              particular terminal.

       The debug flag levels are as follows:

       1      Names of files created and linked

       2      Information related to the ``use'' facility

       3      Statistics from the hashing algorithm

       5      String-table memory allocations

       7      Entries into the string-table

       8      List of tokens encountered by scanner

       9      All  values  computed  in  construction of the hash
              table

       If n is not given, it is taken to be one.

       All but one of the capabilities recognized by tic are doc-
       umented in terminfo(5).  The exception is the use capabil-
       ity.

       When a use=entry-name field is discovered  in  a  terminal
       entry  currently  being  compiled, tic reads in the binary
       from @TERMINFO@ to complete the entry.   (Entries  created
       from file will be used first.  If the environment variable
       TERMINFO is set, that directory  is  searched  instead  of
       @TERMINFO@.)   tic  duplicates  the capabilities in entry-
       name for the current entry, with the  exception  of  those
       capabilities  that  explicitly  are defined in the current
       entry.

       When   an   entry,   e.g.,   entry_name_1,   contains    a
       use=entry_name_2   field,  any  canceled  capabilities  in
       entry_name_2 must also appear in entry_name_1 before  use=
       for these capabilities to be canceled in entry_name_1.

       If  the environment variable TERMINFO is set, the compiled
       results are placed there instead of @TERMINFO@.

       Total compiled entries cannot exceed 4096 bytes.  The name
       field  cannot  exceed 128 bytes.  Terminal names exceeding
       14 characters will be truncated to  14  characters  and  a
       warning message will be printed.

COMPATIBILITY

       There  is  some evidence that historic tic implementations
       treated description fields with no whitespace in  them  as
       additional  aliases  or  shortnames.  This tic does not do
       that, but it does warn  when  description  fields  may  be
       treated  that way and check them for dangerous characters.

EXTENSIONS

       Unlike the stock SVr4 tic command, this implementation can
       actually  compile  termcap  sources.   In fact, entries in
       terminfo and termcap syntax  can  be  mixed  in  a  single
       source  file.   See  terminfo(5)  for  the list of termcap
       names taken to be equivalent to terminfo names.

       The SVr4 manual page are not clear on the resolution rules
       for use capabilities. This implementation of tic will find
       use targets anywhere in the source file,  or  anywhere  in
       the file tree routed at TERMINFO (if TERMINFO is defined),
       or in the user's $HOME/.terminfo directory (if it exists),
       or  (finally)  anywhere  in the system's file tree of com-
       piled entries.

       The error messages from this tic have the same  format  as
       GNU  C  error  messages,  and can be parsed by GNU Emacs's
       compile facility.

       The -I, -C, -N, -R, and -r options are not supported under
       SVr4.  The SVr4 -c mode does not report bad use links.

       System  V does not compile entries to or read entries from
       your $HOME/.terminfo directory unless TERMINFO is  explic-
       itly set to it.

FILES

       @TERMINFO@/?/*
            Compiled terminal description database.

SEE ALSO

       infocmp(1m),    captoinfo(1m),   infotocap(1m),   toe(1m),
       curses(3X), terminfo(5).