Subject: Re: ncurses and terminfo are broken on Solaris/SunOS (Re: pkg/20881)
To: Michael Schroeder <Michael.Schroeder@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>
From: Greg A. Woods <woods@weird.com>
List: tech-pkg
Date: 04/04/2003 13:07:12
[ On Friday, April 4, 2003 at 12:42:45 (+0200), Michael Schroeder wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: ncurses and terminfo are broken on Solaris/SunOS (Re: pkg/20881)
>
> On Fri, Apr 04, 2003 at 07:35:37PM +1000, grant beattie wrote:
> > On Fri, Apr 04, 2003 at 11:30:18AM +0200, Michael Schroeder wrote:
> > 
> > > > It seems like a backward step to have to install ncurses when you
> > > > don't need it.
> > > 
> > > Isn't screen linked against ncurses? In what package are all your
> > > other terminfo entries, e.g. xterm?
> > 
> > Not on NetBSD, since our curses provides the necessary functions.
> > 
> > > ldd /usr/pkg/bin/screen
> > /usr/pkg/bin/screen:
> >          -lcurses.5 => /usr/lib/libcurses.so.5
> >          -lutil.7 => /usr/lib/libutil.so.7
> >          -lcrypt.0 => /usr/lib/libcrypt.so.0
> >          -lc.12 => /usr/lib/libc.so.12
> > 
> > xterm, et al are all in the base termcap, /usr/share/misc/termcap{,.db}
> 
> Then screen should be in the base termcap, too!

Yes (unless "ansi" will do), but _NOT_ because of the above library
dependencies!

It is totally irrelevant which libcurses screen is linked against
(except of course to pkg_add which must record a dependency on whatever
third-party add-on packages which provide the shared libraries screen
uses).

The "screen" terminal type describes the terminal emulator implemented
on the front-side of screen -- the terminal type applications run on
screen's target sessions will have to use to sucessfully drive the
virtual terminal windows that screen maintains internally.  As far as I
know nothing in this virtual terminal emulator inside screen uses the
terminfo or termcap descriptions of the "screen" terminal type to do
what it does.

The only use in screen of libcurses and of the termcap database on the
host where screen is run is to drive the terminal used by the user who
invoked screen, a terminal which is most likely not another "screen"
terminal (though I do know enough screen nuts who will recursively use
screen on many hosts).

-- 
								Greg A. Woods

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