tput(1) (Terminal Information Utilities) tput(1)
NAME
tput - initialize a terminal or query terminfo database
SYNOPSIS
tput [-Ttype] capname [parms ... ]
tput [-Ttype] init
tput [-Ttype] reset
tput [-Ttype] longname
tput-S <<
DESCRIPTION
tput uses the terminfo database to make the values of terminal-
dependent capabilities and information available to the shell (see
sh(1)), to initialize or reset the terminal, or return the long name
of the requested terminal type. tput outputs a string if the
attribute (capability name) is of type string, or an integer if the
attribute is of type integer. If the attribute is of type boolean,
tput simply sets the exit code (0 for TRUE if the terminal has the
capability, 1 for FALSE if it does not), and produces no output.
Before using a value returned on standard output, the user should
test the exit code [$?, see sh(1)] to be sure it is 0. (See the EXIT
CODES and DIAGNOSTICS sections.) For a complete list of capabilities
and the capname associated with each, see terminfo(4).
-Ttype indicates the type of terminal. Normally this option is
unnecessary, because the default is taken from the
environment variable TERM. If -T is specified, then the
shell variables LINES and COLUMNS and the layer size [see
layers(1)] will not be referenced.
capname indicates the attribute from the terminfo database.
parms If the attribute is a string that takes parameters, the
arguments parms will be instantiated into the string. An
all numeric argument will be passed to the attribute as a
number.
-S allows more than one capability per invocation of tput.
The capabilities must be passed to tput from the standard
input instead of from the command line (see example).
Only one capname is allowed per line. The -S option
changes the meaning of the 0 and 1 boolean and string exit
codes (see the EXIT CODES section).
init If the terminfo database is present and an entry for the
user's terminal exists (see -Ttype, above), the following
will occur: (1) if present, the terminal's initialization
strings will be output (is1, is2, is3, if, iprog), (2) any
delays (e.g., newline) specified in the entry will be set
in the tty driver, (3) tabs expansion will be turned on or
off according to the specification in the entry, and (4)
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tput(1) (Terminal Information Utilities) tput(1)
if tabs are not expanded, standard tabs will be set (every
8 spaces). If an entry does not contain the information
needed for any of the four above activities, that activity
will silently be skipped.
reset Instead of putting out initialization strings, the
terminal's reset strings will be output if present (rs1,
rs2, rs3, rf). If the reset strings are not present, but
initialization strings are, the initialization strings
will be output. Otherwise, reset acts identically to
init.
longname If the terminfo database is present and an entry for the
user's terminal exists (see -Ttype above), then the long
name of the terminal will be put out. The long name is
the last name in the first line of the terminal's
description in the terminfo database [see term(5)].
EXAMPLES
tput init Initialize the terminal according to the type of
terminal in the environmental variable TERM. This
command should be included in everyone's .profile
after the environmental variable TERM has been
exported, as illustrated on the profile(4) manual
page.
tput -T5620 reset Reset an AT&T 5620 terminal, overriding the type of
terminal in the environmental variable TERM.
tput cup 0 0 Send the sequence to move the cursor to row 0,
column 0 (the upper left corner of the screen,
usually known as the "home" cursor position).
tput clear Echo the clear-screen sequence for the current
terminal.
tput cols Print the number of columns for the current
terminal.
tput -T450 cols Print the number of columns for the 450 terminal.
bold=`tput smso`
offbold=`tput rmso`
Set the shell variables bold, to begin stand-out
mode sequence, and offbold, to end standout mode
sequence, for the current terminal. This might be
followed by a prompt:
echo "${bold}Please type in your name:
${offbold}\c"
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tput(1) (Terminal Information Utilities) tput(1)
tput hc Set exit code to indicate if the current terminal
is a hardcopy terminal.
tput cup 23 4 Send the sequence to move the cursor to row 23,
column 4.
tput longname Print the long name from the terminfo database for
the type of terminal specified in the environmental
variable TERM.
tput -S <<! This example shows tput processing several
> clear capabilities in one invocation. This example
> cup 10 10 clears the screen, moves the cursor to position 10,
> bold 10 and turns on bold (extra bright) mode. The list
> ! is terminated by an exclamation mark (!) on a line
by itself.
FILES
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/*
compiled terminal description database
/usr/include/curses.h curses(3X) header file
/usr/include/term.h terminfo header file
/usr/lib/tabset/* tab settings for some terminals, in a format
appropriate to be output to the terminal
(escape sequences that set margins and
tabs); for more information, see the "Tabs
and Initialization" section of terminfo(4)
SEE ALSO
clear(1), stty(1), tabs(1).
profile(4), terminfo(4) in the Programmer's Reference Manual.
EXIT CODES
If capname is of type boolean, a value of 0 is set for TRUE and 1 for
FALSE unless the -S option is used.
If capname is of type string, a value of 0 is set if the capname is
defined for this terminal type (the value of capname is returned on
standard output); a value of 1 is set if capname is not defined for
this terminal type (a null value is returned on standard output).
If capname is of type boolean or string and the -S option is used, a
value of 0 is returned to indicate that all lines were successful.
No indication of which line failed can be given so exit code 1 will
never appear. Exit codes 2, 3, and 4 retain their usual
interpretation.
If capname is of type integer, a value of 0 is always set, whether or
not capname is defined for this terminal type. To determine if
capname is defined for this terminal type, the user must test the
value of standard output. A value of -1 means that capname is not
defined for this terminal type.
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tput(1) (Terminal Information Utilities) tput(1)
Any other exit code indicates an error; see the DIAGNOSTICS section.
DIAGNOSTICS
tput prints the following error messages and sets the corresponding
exit codes.
exit
code error message
0 -1 (capname is a numeric variable that is not specified in the
terminfo(4) database for this terminal type, e.g.
tput -T450 lines and tput -T2621 xmc)
1 no error message is printed, see the EXIT CODES section.
2 usage error
3 unknown terminal type or no terminfo database
4 unknown terminfo capability capname
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