Terminfo

[Doug Gwyn <gwyn>]

> What is terminfo, and how does it differ from termcap (be technical, please)

Terminfo is Mark Horton's redesign of termcap.  The overall scheme is
quite similar, with the following improvements made:

	(1)  Terminal description database is pre-compiled for speed.
	(2)  Terminal description database is in several files rather
		than one humongous one.
	(3)  Additional terminal capabilities were added, some of
		which could be back-ported into termcap and some of
		which rely on terminfo special abilities.
	(4)  Terminal capabilities are given longer names (ANSI where
		possible).
	(5)  Parameterized string capabilities are now fully programmable
		in terms of a stack pseudo-machine.  The added flexibility
		supports a wider variety of terminals and capabilities.
	(6)  The curses and termlib libraries have been combined.

Terminfo is supplied as part of UNIX System V Release 2.0.  There is a
public-domain implementation by Pavel Curtis of Cornell.