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curs_color, start_color, init_pair, init_color, has_colors, can_change_color, color_content, pair_content, COLOR_PAIR, COLOR_PAIRS, COLORS, PAIR_NUMBER - Curses color-manipulation routines and variables
# include <curses.h>
int start_color(
void
);
int init_pair(
short pair,
short f,
short b
);
int init_color(
short color,
short r,
short g,
short b
);
bool has_colors(
void
);
bool can_change_color(
void
);
int color_content(
short color,
short *r,
short *g,
short *b
);
int pair_content(
short pair,
short *f,
short *b
);
int COLOR_PAIR(
int n
);
int PAIR_NUMBER(
int value
);
Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry standards as follows:
start_color, init_pair, init_color, has_colors, can_change_color, color_content, pair_content, COLOR_PAIR, PAIR_NUMBER: XPG4-UNIX
Refer to the
standards(5)
reference page for more information
about industry standards and associated tags.
The Curses library includes routines that manipulate color-on-color alphanumeric terminals. To use these routines, applications must call start_color, usually right after initscr. Colors are always used in pairs (referred to as color-pairs). A color-pair consists of a foreground color (for characters) and a background color (for the field on which the characters are displayed). An application calls init_pair to initialize a color-pair. After the color-pair is initialized, applications can call COLOR_PAIR(n) to use color attributes.
If a terminal is capable of redefining colors, applications can use
the routine
init_color
to change the definition of a color.
The routines
has_colors
and
can_change_color
return
TRUE
or
FALSE, depending on whether
the terminal has color capabilities and whether the application can change
the colors. The routine
color_content
allows an application
to identify the amounts of red, green, and blue components in an initialized
color. The routine
pair_content
allows the application
to find out how a given color-pair is currently defined.
The start_color routine requires no arguments. It must be called if the application uses colors, and before the application calls any other color manipulation routine. It is good practice to call this routine right after initscr. The start_color routine initializes eight basic colors (black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white) and two global variables (COLORS and COLOR_PAIRS, which respectively define the maximum number of colors and color-pairs the terminal can support). The start_color routine also restores the colors on the terminal to the values they had when the terminal was turned on.
The init_pair routine changes the definition of a color-pair. This routine takes three arguments that are identification numbers for the following: The color-pair to be changed The foreground color The background color
The value of the first argument must be between 1 and the smaller of either 63 or COLOR_PAIRS-1. The values of the second and third arguments must be between 0 and COLORS. If the color-pair was previously initialized, the screen is refreshed and all occurrences of that color-pair are changed to the new definition.
The init_color routine changes the definition of a color. This routine takes four arguments: the number of the color to be changed followed by three RGB values (for the amounts of red, green, and blue components, respectively). The value of the first argument must be between 0 and COLORS. (See the subsection Colors for the default color index.) Each of the last three arguments must be a value between 0 and 1000. When init_color is used, all occurrences of that color on the screen immediately change to the new definition.
The has_colors routine requires no arguments. It returns TRUE if the terminal can manipulate colors; otherwise, the routine returns FALSE. This routine facilitates writing terminal-independent programs. For example, a programmer can use it to decide whether to use color or some other video attribute.
The can_change_color routine requires no arguments. It returns TRUE if the terminal supports colors and can change their definitions; otherwise, the routine returns FALSE. This routine facilitates writing terminal-independent programs.
The color_content routine gives users a way to find the intensity of the red, green, and blue (RGB) components in a color. This routine requires four arguments: the color number, and three addresses (of short data type) for storing the information about the amounts of red, green, and blue components in the given color. The value of the first argument must be between 0 and COLORS. The values that are stored at the addresses pointed to by the last three arguments are between 0 (no component) and 1000 (maximum amount of component).
The pair_content routine allows users to find out which colors a given color-pair consists of. This routine requires three arguments: the color-pair number, and two addresses (of short data type) for storing the numbers for the foreground and background colors. The value of the first argument must be between 1 and the smaller of 63 or COLOR_PAIRS-1. The values that are stored at the addresses pointed to by the second and third arguments are between 0 and COLORS.
The
COLOR_PAIR(n)
macro returns the value of the color-pair whose number is
n. This value is the color attribute as it would be extracted
from a
chtype
variable. Conversely, the macro
PAIR_NUMBER(value)
returns the number of the color-pair associated with the color attribute value.
In <curses.h>, the following macros are defined. These are the default colors. Curses also assumes that COLOR_BLACK is the default background color for all terminals.
COLOR_BLACK COLOR_RED COLOR_GREEN COLOR_YELLOW COLOR_BLUE COLOR_MAGENTA COLOR_CYAN COLOR_WHITE
The header file <curses.h> automatically includes the header file <stdio.h>.
Note that
COLOR_PAIR
and
PAIR_NUMBER
may be macros.
The COLOR_PAIR, PAIR_NUMBER, can_change_color, and has_colors routines return values as indicated in the DESCRIPTION section.
All other routines return
ERR
upon failure
and
OK
upon successful completion.
Functions: curses(3), curs_attr_get(3), curs_initscr(3)
Others: standards(5)