Hey Branden, Thomas, all,

Many thanks for your reactivity.

G. Branden Robinson (2026/04/01 02:33 -0500):
> Hi Sébastien,
>
> At 2026-04-01T09:20:57+0200, Sébastien Hinderer wrote:
> > > Why did you define the same two capabilities 32 times each in one
> > > terminal type description instead of just once?
> >
> > TBH I just took inspiration from a script provided by Nicolas and which
> > uses a sed command to update the terminfo database.
>
> Okay.
>
> > So what I can say is that this update works, but I am not saying the
> > patch is minimal in any way and apparently it is not.
>
> No indeed.  Translated to C, it's somewhat like this:
>
> char smcup = "\033[?1024h\033[22;0;0t";
> smcup = "\033[?1024h\033[22;0;0t";
> smcup = "\033[?1024h\033[22;0;0t";
> smcup = "\033[?1024h\033[22;0;0t";
> smcup = "\033[?1024h\033[22;0;0t";
> smcup = "\033[?1024h\033[22;0;0t";
>
> ...you get the idea.  :)

I do. I already did from your first message actually. :)

> > I didn't learn terminfo, I just offered my help to get the update
> > upstreamed.
> >
> > So if there is another, preferred way to acieve the same result then
> > very well, the patch was provided merely as a way to show the update
> > concretely. I apologize for not having clarified this in the original
> > e-mail.
>
> Okay.  As a rule of thumb it's a good idea to have some understanding of
> code patches you submit.  Doing so facilitates effective communications
> between developers from different projects (and in general).

I certainly agree. It's just that I did what my current life
circumstances permit, hoping that it would be enough for upstream to get
the intention and do the rest.

> You can spin yourself up on the basics of terminfo database entry syntax
> by reviewing the terminfo(5) man page.  (The "5" is important.)  You
> don't have to read the whole thing--it's lengthy--but the parts up to
> the first table of capabilities (the Boolean ones) should enable you
> understand the general principles.
>
> If you have feedback on how that man page could be improved, I
> personally would be keenly interested to hear your thoughts.  After
> reading a couple of books on curses and finding myself dissatisfied with
> either their currency (Goodheart) or depth (Gookin), I began undertaking
> the improvement of ncurses' man pages.
>
> That project is a long way from completion.  Your feedback might help me
> to focus my efforts where users' needs are most pressing.

Okay I can try to have a look. Just to clarify, though, are you talking
in a general way, or do you want me to improve this specific patch and
saying that updating the database will not be done unless I submit a
better patch?

Thomas Dickey (2026/04/01 03:35 -0400):
> On Tue, Mar 31, 2026 at 10:05:06PM -0500, G. Branden Robinson wrote:
> > At 2026-03-31T22:06:05+0200, Sébastien Hinderer wrote:
> > > Since Linux 6.19.10, the linux terminal has gained the alternative
> > > screen capability, thanks to Nicolas Pitre in Cc.
> > >
> > > Could the terminfo entry for the linux temrinal be updated
> > > accordingly, please?
> > >
> > > It is okay to update unconditionnally because older kernels will just
> > > ignore the corresponding escape sequences if they do not support them.
> > >
> > > Attached is a patch that illustrates the proposed change.
> >
> > Why did you define the same two capabilities 32 times each in one
> > terminal type description instead of just once?
>
> today's April 1.

:)

But the request for update is genuine, though!

Seb.

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