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43<H1 class="no-header">form 3x 2024-03-16 ncurses 6.5 Library calls</H1>
44<PRE>
45<STRONG><A HREF="form.3x.html">form(3x)</A></STRONG>                         Library calls                        <STRONG><A HREF="form.3x.html">form(3x)</A></STRONG>
46
47
48
49
50</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NAME">NAME</a></H2><PRE>
51       <STRONG>form</STRONG> - curses extension for programming forms
52
53
54</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></H2><PRE>
55       <STRONG>#include</STRONG> <STRONG>&lt;form.h&gt;</STRONG>
56
57
58</PRE><H2><a name="h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a></H2><PRE>
59       The <STRONG>form</STRONG> library provides terminal-independent facilities for composing
60       form screens on character-cell terminals.  The library includes:  field
61       routines, which create and modify form fields; and form routines, which
62       group fields into forms,  display  forms  on  the  screen,  and  handle
63       interaction with the user.
64
65       The  <STRONG>form</STRONG>  library uses the <STRONG>curses</STRONG> libraries.  To use the <STRONG>form</STRONG> library,
66       link with the options <STRONG>-lform</STRONG> <STRONG>-lcurses</STRONG>.
67
68       Your program should set up the locale, e.g.,
69
70            <STRONG>setlocale(LC_ALL,</STRONG> <STRONG>"");</STRONG>
71
72       so that input/output processing will work.
73
74       A curses initialization routine such as <STRONG>initscr</STRONG> must be  called  before
75       using any of these functions.
76
77
78</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Current-Default-Values-for-Field-Attributes">Current Default Values for Field Attributes</a></H3><PRE>
79       The  <STRONG>form</STRONG>  library maintains a default value for field attributes.  You
80       can get or  set  this  default  by  calling  the  appropriate  <STRONG>set_</STRONG>  or
81       retrieval  routine  with  a  <STRONG>NULL</STRONG> field pointer.  Changing this default
82       with a <STRONG>set_</STRONG> function affects  future  field  creations,  but  does  not
83       change the rendering of fields already created.
84
85
86</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Routine-Name-Index">Routine Name Index</a></H3><PRE>
87       The  following table lists each <STRONG>form</STRONG> routine and the name of the manual
88       page  on  which  it  is  described.   Routines  flagged  with  "*"  are
89       <EM>ncurses</EM>-specific, not present in SVr4.
90
91       <STRONG>curses</STRONG> Routine Name     Manual Page Name
92       --------------------------------------------------
93       current_field           <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
94       data_ahead              <STRONG><A HREF="form_data.3x.html">form_data(3x)</A></STRONG>
95       data_behind             <STRONG><A HREF="form_data.3x.html">form_data(3x)</A></STRONG>
96       dup_field               <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_new.3x.html">form_field_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
97       dynamic_field_info      <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_info.3x.html">form_field_info(3x)</A></STRONG>
98       field_arg               <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_validation.3x.html">form_field_validation(3x)</A></STRONG>
99       field_back              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
100       field_buffer            <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
101       field_count             <STRONG><A HREF="form_field.3x.html">form_field(3x)</A></STRONG>
102       field_fore              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
103       field_index             <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
104       field_info              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_info.3x.html">form_field_info(3x)</A></STRONG>
105       field_init              <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
106       field_just              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_just.3x.html">form_field_just(3x)</A></STRONG>
107       field_opts              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
108       field_opts_off          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
109       field_opts_on           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
110       field_pad               <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
111       field_status            <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
112       field_term              <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
113       field_type              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_validation.3x.html">form_field_validation(3x)</A></STRONG>
114       field_userptr           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_userptr.3x.html">form_field_userptr(3x)</A></STRONG>
115
116       form_driver             <STRONG><A HREF="form_driver.3x.html">form_driver(3x)</A></STRONG>
117       form_driver_w           <STRONG><A HREF="form_driver.3x.html">form_driver(3x)</A></STRONG>*
118       form_fields             <STRONG><A HREF="form_field.3x.html">form_field(3x)</A></STRONG>
119       form_init               <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
120       form_opts               <STRONG><A HREF="form_opts.3x.html">form_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
121       form_opts_off           <STRONG><A HREF="form_opts.3x.html">form_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
122       form_opts_on            <STRONG><A HREF="form_opts.3x.html">form_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
123       form_page               <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
124       form_request_by_name    <STRONG><A HREF="form_requestname.3x.html">form_requestname(3x)</A></STRONG>*
125       form_request_name       <STRONG><A HREF="form_requestname.3x.html">form_requestname(3x)</A></STRONG>*
126       form_sub                <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
127       form_term               <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
128       form_userptr            <STRONG><A HREF="form_userptr.3x.html">form_userptr(3x)</A></STRONG>
129       form_win                <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
130       free_field              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_new.3x.html">form_field_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
131       free_fieldtype          <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
132       free_form               <STRONG><A HREF="form_new.3x.html">form_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
133       link_field              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_new.3x.html">form_field_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
134       link_fieldtype          <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
135       move_field              <STRONG><A HREF="form_field.3x.html">form_field(3x)</A></STRONG>
136       new_field               <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_new.3x.html">form_field_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
137       new_fieldtype           <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
138       new_form                <STRONG><A HREF="form_new.3x.html">form_new(3x)</A></STRONG>
139       new_page                <STRONG><A HREF="form_new_page.3x.html">form_new_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
140       pos_form_cursor         <STRONG><A HREF="form_cursor.3x.html">form_cursor(3x)</A></STRONG>
141       post_form               <STRONG><A HREF="form_post.3x.html">form_post(3x)</A></STRONG>
142       scale_form              <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
143       set_current_field       <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
144       set_field_back          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
145       set_field_buffer        <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
146       set_field_fore          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
147       set_field_init          <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
148       set_field_just          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_just.3x.html">form_field_just(3x)</A></STRONG>
149       set_field_opts          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
150       set_field_pad           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_attributes.3x.html">form_field_attributes(3x)</A></STRONG>
151       set_field_status        <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
152       set_field_term          <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
153       set_field_type          <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_validation.3x.html">form_field_validation(3x)</A></STRONG>
154       set_field_userptr       <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_userptr.3x.html">form_field_userptr(3x)</A></STRONG>
155       set_fieldtype_arg       <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
156       set_fieldtype_choice    <STRONG><A HREF="form_fieldtype.3x.html">form_fieldtype(3x)</A></STRONG>
157       set_form_fields         <STRONG><A HREF="form_field.3x.html">form_field(3x)</A></STRONG>
158       set_form_init           <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
159       set_form_opts           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_opts.3x.html">form_field_opts(3x)</A></STRONG>
160       set_form_page           <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
161       set_form_sub            <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
162       set_form_term           <STRONG><A HREF="form_hook.3x.html">form_hook(3x)</A></STRONG>
163       set_form_userptr        <STRONG><A HREF="form_userptr.3x.html">form_userptr(3x)</A></STRONG>
164       set_form_win            <STRONG><A HREF="form_win.3x.html">form_win(3x)</A></STRONG>
165       set_max_field           <STRONG><A HREF="form_field_buffer.3x.html">form_field_buffer(3x)</A></STRONG>
166       set_new_page            <STRONG><A HREF="form_new_page.3x.html">form_new_page(3x)</A></STRONG>
167       unfocus_current_field   <STRONG><A HREF="form_page.3x.html">form_page(3x)</A></STRONG>*
168       unpost_form             <STRONG><A HREF="form_post.3x.html">form_post(3x)</A></STRONG>
169
170
171</PRE><H2><a name="h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></H2><PRE>
172       Routines  that  return  pointers return <STRONG>NULL</STRONG> on error, and set <STRONG>errno</STRONG> to
173       the  corresponding  error-code  returned  by  functions  returning   an
174       integer.   Routines  that return an integer return one of the following
175       error codes:
176
177       <STRONG>E_OK</STRONG> The routine succeeded.
178
179       <STRONG>E_BAD_ARGUMENT</STRONG>
180            Routine detected an incorrect or out-of-range argument.
181
182       <STRONG>E_BAD_STATE</STRONG>
183            Routine was called from an initialization or termination function.
184
185       <STRONG>E_CONNECTED</STRONG>
186            The field is already connected to a form.
187
188       <STRONG>E_INVALID_FIELD</STRONG>
189            Contents of a field are not valid.
190
191       <STRONG>E_NOT_CONNECTED</STRONG>
192            No fields are connected to the form.
193
194       <STRONG>E_NOT_POSTED</STRONG>
195            The form has not been posted.
196
197       <STRONG>E_NO_ROOM</STRONG>
198            Form is too large for its window.
199
200       <STRONG>E_POSTED</STRONG>
201            The form is already posted.
202
203       <STRONG>E_REQUEST_DENIED</STRONG>
204            The form driver could not process the request.
205
206       <STRONG>E_SYSTEM_ERROR</STRONG>
207            System error occurred (see <STRONG>errno(3)</STRONG>).
208
209       <STRONG>E_UNKNOWN_COMMAND</STRONG>
210            The form driver code saw an unknown request code.
211
212
213</PRE><H2><a name="h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></H2><PRE>
214       The header file <EM>form.h</EM> itself includes <EM>curses.h</EM>.
215
216
217</PRE><H2><a name="h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></H2><PRE>
218       These routines emulate the System  V  forms  library.   They  were  not
219       supported on Version 7 or BSD versions.
220
221       A  form  facility  was  documented in SVr4.2's <EM>Character</EM> <EM>User</EM> <EM>Interface</EM>
222       <EM>Programming</EM> document.
223
224       It is not part of X/Open Curses.
225
226       Aside from <EM>ncurses</EM>, there are few implementations:
227
228       <STRONG>o</STRONG>   systems based on SVr4 source code, e.g., Solaris.
229
230       <STRONG>o</STRONG>   NetBSD curses.
231
232       A few  functions  in  this  implementation  are  extensions  added  for
233       <EM>ncurses</EM>,   but   not   provided   by   other   implementations,   e.g.,
234       <STRONG>form_driver_w</STRONG>, <STRONG>unfocus_current_field</STRONG>.
235
236
237</PRE><H2><a name="h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></H2><PRE>
238       Juergen Pfeifer.  Manual pages and adaptation for <EM>ncurses</EM>  by  Eric  S.
239       Raymond.
240
241
242</PRE><H2><a name="h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></H2><PRE>
243       <STRONG><A HREF="ncurses.3x.html">curses(3x)</A></STRONG>  and  related  pages  whose names begin "form_" for detailed
244       descriptions of the entry points.
245
246
247
248ncurses 6.5                       2024-03-16                          <STRONG><A HREF="form.3x.html">form(3x)</A></STRONG>
249</PRE>
250<div class="nav">
251<ul>
252<li><a href="#h2-NAME">NAME</a></li>
253<li><a href="#h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></li>
254<li><a href="#h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a>
255<ul>
256<li><a href="#h3-Current-Default-Values-for-Field-Attributes">Current Default Values for Field Attributes</a></li>
257<li><a href="#h3-Routine-Name-Index">Routine Name Index</a></li>
258</ul>
259</li>
260<li><a href="#h2-RETURN-VALUE">RETURN VALUE</a></li>
261<li><a href="#h2-NOTES">NOTES</a></li>
262<li><a href="#h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a></li>
263<li><a href="#h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></li>
264<li><a href="#h2-SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</a></li>
265</ul>
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