| CURSES_INPUT(3) | Library Functions Manual | CURSES_INPUT(3) | 
curses_input, getch,
  wgetch, mvgetch,
  mvwgetch, define_key,
  keyok, has_key,
  getnstr, wgetnstr,
  mvgetnstr, mvwgetnstr,
  getstr, wgetstr,
  mvgetstr, mvwgetstr,
  keypad, is_keypad,
  notimeout, timeout,
  wtimeout, nodelay,
  ungetch, set_escdelay —
#include <curses.h>
int
  
  getch(void);
int
  
  wgetch(WINDOW
    *win);
int
  
  mvgetch(int
    y, int x);
int
  
  mvwgetch(WINDOW
    *win, int y,
    int x);
int
  
  keyok(int
    key_symbol, bool
    flag);
int
  
  has_key(int
    key_symbol);
int
  
  define_key(char
    *sequence, int
    key_symbol);
int
  
  getnstr(char
    *str, int
  limit);
int
  
  wgetnstr(WINDOW
    *win, char *str,
    int limit);
int
  
  mvgetnstr(int
    y, int x,
    char *str,
    int limit);
int
  
  mvwgetnstr(WINDOW
    *win, int y,
    int x,
    char *str,
    int limit);
int
  
  getstr(char
    *str);
int
  
  wgetstr(WINDOW
    *win, char
  *str);
int
  
  mvgetstr(int
    y, int x,
    char *str);
int
  
  mvwgetstr(WINDOW
    *win, int y,
    int x,
    char *str);
int
  
  keypad(WINDOW
    *win, boolf
  flag);
bool
  
  is_keypad(const
    WINDOW *win);
int
  
  notimeout(WINDOW
    *win, boolf
  flag);
int
  
  timeout(int
    delay);
int
  
  wtimeout(WINDOW
    *win, int
  delay);
int
  
  nodelay(WINDOW
    *win, boolf
  flag);
int
  
  ungetch(int
    c);
int
  
  set_escdelay(int
    escdelay);
extern int ESCDELAY;
The getch() function reads a character
    from the stdscr input file descriptor and returns
    it. If the keypad() flag has been set to
    TRUE, then getch() will
    assemble multi-character key sequences into key symbols, If the terminal is
    resized, getch() will return
    KEY_RESIZE, regardless of the setting of
    keypad(). Calling getch()
    will cause an implicit refresh() on
    stdscr.
The wgetch() function is the same as the
    getch() function, excepting that it reads from the
    input file descriptor associated with the window specified by
    win.
If the keypad() flag is
    TRUE then the assembly of specific key symbols can
    be disabled by using the keyok() function. If the
    flag is set to FALSE on a key
    symbol then getch() will behave as if the character
    sequence associated with that key symbol was not recognised and will return
    the component characters one at a time to the caller. The
    is_keypad() function returns
    TRUE if the keypad flag is set for the window
    specified by win.
The has_key() function takes a key value
    and returns TRUE if the current terminal recognises
    a key with that value, otherwise FALSE.
Custom associations between sequences of characters and a key
    symbol can be made by using the define_key()
    function. Normally, these associations are made by the information in the
    terminfo(5) database but the
    define_key() function gives the capability to remove
    or add more associations. If define_key() is passed
    a non-NULL string in sequence it will associate that
    sequence with the key symbol passed in key_symbol. The
    key symbol may be one of the ones listed below or a custom value that is
    application defined. It is valid to have multiple character sequences map to
    the same key symbol and there are no constraints on the length of the
    sequence allowed. The assembly of custom sequences follow the same rules for
    inter-character timing and so forth as the
    terminfo(5) derived ones. If
    define_key() is passed a NULL in
    sequence then all associations for the key symbol in
    key_symbol will be deleted, this includes any
    associations that were derived from
    terminfo(5).
The mvgetch() and
    mvwgetch() functions are the same as the
    getch() and wgetch()
    functions, respectively, excepting that wmove() is
    called to move the cursor to the position specified by
    y, x before the character is
    read.
Calling getnstr(),
    wgetnstr(), mvgetnstr() or
    mvwgetnstr() is effectively the same as calling
    getch() repeatedly until a newline is received or
    the character limit limit is reached. Once this
    happens the string is NULL terminated and returned
    in str. During input, the normal curses input key
    processing is performed and affects the input buffer. The
    mvgetnstr() function calls
    wmove() to move the cursor to the position given by
    y, x before getting the string,
    wgetnstr() reads the input from the designated
    window, mvwgetnstr() moves the cursor to the
    position given by y, x before
    getting the input from the designated window.
The functions getstr(),
    wgetstr(), mvgetstr(), and
    mvwgetstr() are similar to
    getnstr(), wgetnstr(),
    mvgetnstr(), and
    mvwgetnstr(), respectively, excepting that there is
    no limit on the number of characters that may be inserted into
    str. This may cause the buffer to be overflowed, so
    their use is not recommended.
The keypad() function is used to affect
    how getch() processes input characters. If
    flag is set to TRUE, then
    getch() will scan the input stream looking for
    multi-character key sequences that are emitted by some terminal function
    keys. If a recognised sequence of characters is found, then
    getch() will collapse that sequence into an integer
    key symbol, as shown below. The default setting for the flag is
    FALSE.
The notimeout() function controls whether
    or not getch() will wait indefinitely between
    characters in a multi-character key sequence or not. If
    flag is TRUE, then there is no
    timeout applied between characters comprising a multi-character key
    sequence. If flag is FALSE,
    then the component characters of a multi-character sequence must not have an
    inter-character gap of more than ESCDELAY. If this
    timing is exceeded, then the multi-character key assembly is deemed to have
    failed and the characters read thus far are returned one at a time when
    getch() is called. The default setting for the flag
    is FALSE. The default value of
    ESCDELAY is 300ms. If ESCDELAY
    is negative, no timeout is applied between characters comprising a
    multi-character key sequence.
The timeout() function affects the
    behaviour of getch() when reading a character from
    stdscr. If delay is negative,
    then getch() will block indefinitely on a read. If
    delay is 0, then getch() will
    return immediately with ERR if there are no
    characters immediately available. If delay is a
    positive number, then getch() will wait for that
    many milliseconds before returning and, if no character was available, then
    ERR will be returned. Note that for a positive
    number, the timeout is only accurate to the nearest tenth of a second. Also,
    the maximum value of delay is 25500 milliseconds. The
    wtimeout() function does the same as
    timeout() but applies to the specified window
    win.
The nodelay() function turns on and off
    blocking reads for getch(). If
    flag is TRUE, then
    getch() will not block on reads, if
    flag is FALSE, then reads will
    block. The default setting for the flag is FALSE.
    nodelay(win,
    TRUE) is equivalent to
    wtimeout(win,
    0) and
    nodelay(win,
    FALSE) is equivalent to
    wtimeout(win,
    -1).
ungetch() will convert
    c into an unsigned char and push that character back
    onto the input stream. Only one character of push-back is guaranteed to
    work, more may be possible depending on system resources.
The set_escdelay() function sets the
    ESCDELAY value of the current screen to
    escdelay.
getch(), wgetch(),
  mvgetch(), and mvwgetch() will
  return the value of the key pressed or ERR in the case
  of an error or a timeout. Additionally, if
  keypad(TRUE) has been called on
  a window, then it may return one of the following values:
| Termcap entry | getch Return Value | Key Function | 
| !1 | KEY_SSAVE | Shift Save | 
| !2 | KEY_SSUSPEND | Shift Suspend | 
| !3 | KEY_SUNDO | Shift Undo | 
| #1 | KEY_SHELP | Shift Help | 
| #2 | KEY_SHOME | Shift Home | 
| #3 | KEY_SIC | Shift Insert Character | 
| #4 | KEY_SLEFT | Shift Left Arrow | 
| %0 | KEY_REDO | Redo | 
| %1 | KEY_HELP | Help | 
| %2 | KEY_MARK | Mark | 
| %3 | KEY_MESSAGE | Message | 
| %4 | KEY_MOVE | Move | 
| %5 | KEY_NEXT | Next Object | 
| %6 | KEY_OPEN | Open | 
| %7 | KEY_OPTIONS | Options | 
| %8 | KEY_PREVIOUS | Previous Object | 
| %9 | KEY_PRINT | |
| %a | KEY_SMESSAGE | Shift Message | 
| %b | KEY_SMOVE | Shift Move | 
| %c | KEY_SNEXT | Shift Next Object | 
| %d | KEY_SOPTIONS | Shift Options | 
| %e | KEY_SPREVIOUS | Shift Previous Object | 
| %f | KEY_SPRINT | Shift Print | 
| %g | KEY_SREDO | Shift Redo | 
| %h | KEY_SREPLACE | Shift Replace | 
| %i | KEY_SRIGHT | Shift Right Arrow | 
| %j | KEY_SRSUME | Shift Resume | 
| &0 | KEY_SCANCEL | Shift Cancel | 
| &1 | KEY_REFERENCE | Reference | 
| &2 | KEY_REFRESH | Refresh | 
| &3 | KEY_REPLACE | Replace | 
| &4 | KEY_RESTART | Restart | 
| &5 | KEY_RESUME | Resume | 
| &6 | KEY_SAVE | Save | 
| &7 | KEY_SUSPEND | Suspend | 
| &8 | KEY_UNDO | Undo | 
| &9 | KEY_SBEG | Shift Begin | 
| *0 | KEY_SFIND | Shift Find | 
| *1 | KEY_SCOMMAND | Shift Command | 
| *2 | KEY_SCOPY | Shift Copy | 
| *3 | KEY_SCREATE | Shift Create | 
| *4 | KEY_SDC | Shift Delete Character | 
| *5 | KEY_SDL | Shift Delete Line | 
| *6 | KEY_SELECT | Select | 
| *7 | KEY_SEND | Shift End | 
| *8 | KEY_SEOL | Shift Clear to EOL | 
| *9 | KEY_SEXIT | Shift Exit | 
| @0 | KEY_FIND | Find | 
| @1 | KEY_BEG | Begin | 
| @2 | KEY_CANCEL | Cancel | 
| @3 | KEY_CLOSE | Close | 
| @4 | KEY_COMMAND | Command | 
| @5 | KEY_COPY | Copy | 
| @6 | KEY_CREATE | Create | 
| @7 | KEY_END | End | 
| @8 | KEY_ENTER | Enter | 
| @9 | KEY_EXIT | Exit | 
| F1 | KEY_F(11) | Function Key 11 | 
| F2 | KEY_F(12) | Function Key 12 | 
| F3 | KEY_F(13) | Function Key 13 | 
| F4 | KEY_F(14) | Function Key 14 | 
| F5 | KEY_F(15) | Function Key 15 | 
| F6 | KEY_F(16) | Function Key 16 | 
| F7 | KEY_F(17) | Function Key 17 | 
| F8 | KEY_F(18) | Function Key 18 | 
| F9 | KEY_F(19) | Function Key 19 | 
| FA | KEY_F(20) | Function Key 20 | 
| FB | KEY_F(21) | Function Key 21 | 
| FC | KEY_F(22) | Function Key 22 | 
| FD | KEY_F(23) | Function Key 23 | 
| FE | KEY_F(24) | Function Key 24 | 
| FF | KEY_F(25) | Function Key 25 | 
| FG | KEY_F(26) | Function Key 26 | 
| FH | KEY_F(27) | Function Key 27 | 
| FI | KEY_F(28) | Function Key 28 | 
| FJ | KEY_F(29) | Function Key 29 | 
| FK | KEY_F(30) | Function Key 30 | 
| FL | KEY_F(31) | Function Key 31 | 
| FM | KEY_F(32) | Function Key 32 | 
| FN | KEY_F(33) | Function Key 33 | 
| FO | KEY_F(34) | Function Key 34 | 
| FP | KEY_F(35) | Function Key 35 | 
| FQ | KEY_F(36) | Function Key 36 | 
| FR | KEY_F(37) | Function Key 37 | 
| FS | KEY_F(38) | Function Key 38 | 
| FT | KEY_F(39) | Function Key 39 | 
| FU | KEY_F(40) | Function Key 40 | 
| FV | KEY_F(41) | Function Key 41 | 
| FW | KEY_F(42) | Function Key 42 | 
| FX | KEY_F(43) | Function Key 43 | 
| FY | KEY_F(44) | Function Key 44 | 
| FZ | KEY_F(45) | Function Key 45 | 
| Fa | KEY_F(46) | Function Key 46 | 
| Fb | KEY_F(47) | Function Key 47 | 
| Fc | KEY_F(48) | Function Key 48 | 
| Fd | KEY_F(49) | Function Key 49 | 
| Fe | KEY_F(50) | Function Key 50 | 
| Ff | KEY_F(51) | Function Key 51 | 
| Fg | KEY_F(52) | Function Key 52 | 
| Fh | KEY_F(53) | Function Key 53 | 
| Fi | KEY_F(54) | Function Key 54 | 
| Fj | KEY_F(55) | Function Key 55 | 
| Fk | KEY_F(56) | Function Key 56 | 
| Fl | KEY_F(57) | Function Key 57 | 
| Fm | KEY_F(58) | Function Key 58 | 
| Fn | KEY_F(59) | Function Key 59 | 
| Fo | KEY_F(60) | Function Key 60 | 
| Fp | KEY_F(61) | Function Key 61 | 
| Fq | KEY_F(62) | Function Key 62 | 
| Fr | KEY_F(63) | Function Key 63 | 
| K1 | KEY_A1 | Upper left key in keypad | 
| K2 | KEY_B2 | Centre key in keypad | 
| K3 | KEY_A3 | Upper right key in keypad | 
| K4 | KEY_C1 | Lower left key in keypad | 
| K5 | KEY_C3 | Lower right key in keypad | 
| Km | KEY_MOUSE | Mouse Event | 
| k0 | KEY_F0 | Function Key 0 | 
| k1 | KEY_F(1) | Function Key 1 | 
| k2 | KEY_F(2) | Function Key 2 | 
| k3 | KEY_F(3) | Function Key 3 | 
| k4 | KEY_F(4) | Function Key 4 | 
| k5 | KEY_F(5) | Function Key 5 | 
| k6 | KEY_F(6) | Function Key 6 | 
| k7 | KEY_F(7) | Function Key 7 | 
| k8 | KEY_F(8) | Function Key 8 | 
| k9 | KEY_F(9) | Function Key 9 | 
| k; | KEY_F(10) | Function Key 10 | 
| kA | KEY_IL | Insert Line | 
| ka | KEY_CATAB | Clear All Tabs | 
| kB | KEY_BTAB | Back Tab | 
| kb | KEY_BACKSPACE | Backspace | 
| kC | KEY_CLEAR | Clear | 
| kD | KEY_DC | Delete Character | 
| kd | KEY_DOWN | Down Arrow | 
| kE | KEY_EOL | Clear to End Of Line | 
| kF | KEY_SF | Scroll Forward one line | 
| kH | KEY_LL | Home Down | 
| kh | KEY_HOME | Home | 
| kI | KEY_IC | Insert Character | 
| kL | KEY_DL | Delete Line | 
| kl | KEY_LEFT | Left Arrow | 
| kM | KEY_EIC | Exit Insert Character Mode | 
| kN | KEY_NPAGE | Next Page | 
| kP | KEY_PPAGE | Previous Page | 
| kR | KEY_SR | Scroll One Line Back | 
| kr | KEY_RIGHT | Right Arrow | 
| kS | KEY_EOS | Clear to End Of Screen | 
| kT | KEY_STAB | Set Tab | 
| kt | KEY_CTAB | Clear Tab | 
| ku | KEY_UP | Up Arrow | 
Note that not all terminals are capable of generating all the keycodes listed above nor are terminfo entries normally configured with all the above capabilities defined.
Other functions that return an int will return one of the following values:
OKERRFunctions returning pointers will return
    NULL if an error is detected.
keyok() and define_key()
  functions are implementations of extensions made by the NCurses library to the
  Curses standard. Portable implementations should avoid the use of these
  functions.
is_keypad() and set_tabsize()
  functions are ncurses extension to the Curses library and
  was added in NetBSD 8.0.
| January 5, 2017 | NetBSD 9.4 |