Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 (MC840302); site boring.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!mcvax!boring!guido From: guido@boring.UUCP Newsgroups: net.sources.bugs Subject: Re: Terminfo distribution doesn't work? Message-ID: <6276@boring.UUCP> Date: Fri, 4-Jan-85 14:09:11 EST Article-I.D.: boring.6276 Posted: Fri Jan 4 14:09:11 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 6-Jan-85 00:52:03 EST References: <6273@boring.UUCP> Reply-To: guido@boring.UUCP (Guido van Rossum) Distribution: net Organization: "Stamp Out BASIC" Committee, CWI, Amsterdam Lines: 29 Summary: Apparently-To: rnews@mcvax.LOCAL In article <6273@boring.UUCP> I asked help with running the test program, mille, for the terminfo library. I got two replies, telling me that the program has a bug, namely it doesn't check the return of initscr(), and if there is something wrong with the TERM or TERMINFO environment variables (so the definition can't be found), initscr() fails but mille continues as if all is well. It then crashes when it passes garbage to delwin(). I made the following simple fix to mille: change the initscr() call to: if (initscr() == ERR) { printf("Sorry. No terminal description found."); printf(" (Check TERM or TERMINFO variables)\n"); exit(-1); } We have a compatibility problem here. Good ol' curses' initscr() would never fail -- if nothing was found out about the terminal, it would assume a paper tty, and at least output some garbage. Therefor probably every program in the world that used curses has to be changed in this respect. System V wizards -- is this true in the system V terminfo library too? Guido van Rossum, "Stamp Out BASIC" Committee, CWI, Amsterdam guido@mcvax.UUCP "Immorality may be something, but it does not take the place of virtue and three square meals a day."