NAME

curs_addch, addch, waddch, mvaddch, mvwaddch, echochar, wechochar − Add a character (with attributes) to a Curses window and advance the cursor

LIBRARY

Curses Library (libcurses.a, libcurses.so)

SYNOPSIS

#include <curses.h>

int addch(const chtype ch);
int waddch(WINDOW ∗win, const chtype ch);
int mvaddch(int y, int x, const chtype ch);
int mvwaddch(WINDOW ∗win, int y, int x,
        const chtype ch);
int echochar(const chtype ch);
int wechochar(WINDOW ∗win, const chtype ch);

STANDARDS

Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry standards as follows:

addch, waddch, mvaddch, mvwaddch:   XPG4, XPG4−UNIX

echochar, wechochar:  XPG4−UNIX

Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about industry standards and associated tags. 

DESCRIPTION

The addch, waddch, mvaddch, and mvwaddch routines put the character ch into the window at the current cursor position of the window and advance the position of the window cursor.  Their function is similar to that of the putchar function.  At the right margin, an automatic newline is performed.  At the bottom of the scrolling region, if scrollok is enabled, the scrolling region is scrolled up one line. 

If ch is a tab, newline, or backspace, these functions move the cursor appropriately within the window.  A newline also performs clrtoeol before moving.  Tabs are considered to be at every eighth column. 

If ch is another control character, it is drawn in the ^X notation.  Calling winch after adding a control character does not return the control character, but instead returns the representation of the control character. 

Video attributes can be combined with a character in a parameter through an inclusive OR operation.  This operation also sets these attributes.  (The intent here is to allow text, including attributes, to be copied from one place to another by using inch and addch.  See the discussion on standout, predefined video attribute constants, in the curs_attr(3) reference page.) 

The echochar and wechochar routines are functionally equivalent to a call to addch followed by a call to refresh, or a call to waddch followed by a call to wrefresh.  The knowledge that only a single character is being output is taken into consideration and, for non-control characters, a considerable performance gain may be realized by using these routines instead of their equivalents. 

Line Graphics

The following variables may be used with routines of the addch family to add line-drawing characters to the screen.  When variables are defined for the terminal, the A_ALTCHARSET bit is turned on (see curs_attr(3)).  Otherwise, the default character specified in the following list is stored in the variable.  The names chosen for variables are consistent with the VT100 nomenclature. 

NOTES

The header file curses.h automatically includes the header file stdio.h. 

Note that addch, mvaddch, mvwaddch, and echochar may be macros. 

RETURN VALUES

All routines return the integer ERR upon failure and OK upon successful completion. 

RELATED INFORMATION

Functions: curses(3), curs_attr(3), curs_clear(3), curs_inch(3), curs_outopts(3), curs_refresh(3), putc(3)

Others: standards(5)