VTPRINTCAP(5) File Formats Manual VTPRINTCAP(5)NAME
vtprintcap - database of terminal printer control codes
SYNOPSIS
/etc/vtprintcap
DESCRIPTION
vtprintcap is a simple flat file database containing a list of the names of various terminals and the codes those terminals use to start
and stop an attached printer (media hard copy). This database is used by vtprint(1) and related programs.
Each entry is composed of three lines. The first line is a comma-delimited list of names which may be used to reference this entry. The
second line the sequence of characters used by the terminal to turn on an attached hard copy device and redirect output to that device.
The third line contains the sequence of characters used to turn the device off and restore normal output to the screen.
An entry must have all three lines to be considered valid. Currently no comment lines are permitted to exist between these lines: such
lines would be interpreted as the printer control codes themselves!
The rules for selecting a terminal name are simple: you must follow the same rules as for /etc/termcap(5) names. Terminal names should be
entered in /etc/vtprintcap with exactly the same names as are in /etc/termcap.
The control code strings in the second and third lines of an entry are governed as follows: ANSI C style escapes for character constants
(e.g.
for newline) are permitted, constant strings are permitted, and quotes may be used to as delimiters in the string. (This is use-
ful if you wish you use a digit immediately following a numeric escape. For example, ESC-5 should be represented as 33"5" to avoid confu-
sion in with 335. In general, the rules outlined for ANSI constant escaping are enforced.
Additionally, /etc/vtprintcap may contain comment lines, which are indicated by placing a hash mark (#) in the first column of the line.
Remember however that entries must not be broken up by comment lines!
EXAMPLE
Here is a sample entry common to DEC vt100 and vt102 terminals:
# Sample vtprintcap entry for vt100 & vt102 terminals
vt100, vt102
33[5i
33[4i
This entry would be used whenever the user's TERM environment variable was set to "vt102" or "vt100", using ESC [5i and ESC [4i as the
printer control codes to turn a printer on and off, respectively.
DISTRIBUTION
vtprintcap is part of the vtprint package, which can be obtained by anonymous ftp at ftp.sdsu.edu in the /pub/vtprint directory. Please
read the INDEX and README files before downloading.
If you do not have ftp availability, then you can request a uuencoded copy of vtprint be sent to you via e-mail from the author. The
author is also willing to make other arrangements as needed, within certain limitations.
FILES
/etc/termcap
/etc/vtprintcap
BUGS
vtprintcap handling code currently could get confused if a printer control code is exactly the same as the name of a terminal, or contained
the name of a terminal delimited by commas. As this is very unlikely to every occur, it shouldn't be a problem.
SEE ALSO termcap(5)vtprint(1)vtprint v2.0.2 25 October 1994 VTPRINTCAP(5)
Check Out this Related Man Page
termcap(3x)termcap(3x)NAME
tgetent, tgetnum, tgetflag, tgetstr, tgoto, tputs - Terminal independent operation routines
LIBRARY
Termcap library (libtermcap.a or libtermlib.a)
SYNOPSIS
char PC;
char *BC;
char *UP;
short ospeed;
tgetent(bp, name)
char *bp, *name;
tgetnum(id)
char *iid;
tgetflag(id)
char *id;
char *
tgetstr(id, area)
char *id, **area;
char *
tgoto(cm, destcol, destline)
char *cm;
tputs(cp, affcnt, outc)
register char *cp;
int affcnt;
int (*outc)();
DESCRIPTION
These functions extract and use capabilities from the terminal capability database termcap(4). These are low level routines; see curses(3)
for a higher level package.
The tgetent function extracts the entry for terminal name into the buffer at bp. The bp capability should be a character buffer of size
1024 and must be retained through all subsequent calls to tgetnum, tgetflag, and tgetstr. The tgetent returns -1 if it cannot open the
termcap file, 0 if the terminal name given does not have an entry, and 1 for success. It will look in the environment for a TERMCAP vari-
able. If found, and the value does not begin with a slash, and the terminal type name is the same as the environment string TERM. The
TERMCAP string is used instead of reading the termcap file. If it does begin with a slash, the string is used as a path name rather than
/usr/share/lib/termcap. This can speed up entry into programs that call tgetent, as well as to help debug new terminal descriptions or to
make one for your terminal if you cannot write the file /usr/share/lib/termcap.
The tgetnum function gets the numeric value of capability id, returning -1 if is not given for the terminal.
The tgetflag function returns 1 if the specified capability is present in the terminal's entry, 0 if it is not.
The tgetstr returns the string value of the capability id, places it in the buffer at area, and advances the area pointer. It decodes the
abbreviations for this field described in termcap(4), except for cursor addressing and padding information. The tgetstr function returns
NULL if the capability was not found.
The tgoto function returns a cursor addressing string decoded from cm to go to column destcol in line destline. It uses the external vari-
ables UP (from the up capability) and BC (if bc is given rather than bs) if necessary to avoid placing
, ^D or ^@ in the returned string.
(Programs which call tgoto should be sure to turn off the XTABS bit(s), since tgoto may now output a tab. Note that, in general, programs
using termcap should turn off XTABS anyway since some terminals use Control-I for other functions, such as nondestructive space.) If a %
sequence is given which is not understood, tgoto returns OOPS.
The tputs function decodes the leading padding information of the string cp. The affcnt parameter gives the number of lines affected by
the operation, or 1 if this is not applicable. The outc parameter is the name of a routine that is called with each character in turn.
The external variable ospeed should contain the output speed of the terminal as encoded by stty(). The external variable PC should contain
a pad character to be used (from the pc capability) if a null (^@) is inappropriate.
FILES
Termcap library (also known as termlib) Standard terminal capability database Backwards-compatible soft link to /usr/share/lib/termcap
RELATED INFORMATION curses(3), curs_termcap(3), termcap(4) delim off
termcap(3x)