% notcurses_input(3)
% nick black <nickblack@linux.com>
% v3.0.17

# NAME

notcurses_input - input via notcurses

# SYNOPSIS

**#include <notcurses/notcurses.h>**

```c
struct timespec;
struct notcurses;

typedef enum {
  NCTYPE_UNKNOWN,
  NCTYPE_PRESS,
  NCTYPE_REPEAT,
  NCTYPE_RELEASE,
} ncintype_e;

// An input event. Cell coordinates are currently defined only for mouse
// events. It is not guaranteed that we can set the modifiers for a given
// ncinput. We encompass single Unicode codepoints, not complete EGCs.
// FIXME for abi4, combine the bools into |modifiers|
typedef struct ncinput {
  uint32_t id;       // Unicode codepoint or synthesized NCKEY event
  int y, x;          // y/x cell coordinate of event, -1 for undefined
  char utf8[5];      // utf8 representation, if one exists
  // DEPRECATED do not use! going away in 4.0
  bool alt;          // was alt held?
  bool shift;        // was shift held?
  bool ctrl;         // was ctrl held?
  // END DEPRECATION
  ncintype_e evtype;
  unsigned modifiers;// bitmask over NCKEY_MOD_*
  int ypx, xpx;      // pixel offsets within cell, -1 for undefined
  uint32_t eff_text[5];  // Effective utf32 representation, taking 
                     // modifier keys into account. This can be multiple
                     // codepoints. Array is zero-terminated.
} ncinput;


#define NCMICE_NO_EVENTS     0
#define NCMICE_MOVE_EVENT    0x1
#define NCMICE_BUTTON_EVENT  0x2
#define NCMICE_DRAG_EVENT    0x4
#define NCMICE_ALL_EVENTS    0x7
```

**bool nckey_mouse_p(uint32_t ***r***);**

**bool ncinput_nomod_p(const ncinput* ***ni***);**

**uint32_t notcurses_get(struct notcurses* ***n***, const struct timespec* ***ts***, ncinput* ***ni***);**

**int notcurses_getvec(struct notcurses* ***n***, const struct timespec* ***ts***, ncinput* ***ni***, int vcount);**

**uint32_t notcurses_get_nblock(struct notcurses* ***n***, ncinput* ***ni***);**

**uint32_t notcurses_get_blocking(struct notcurses* ***n***, ncinput* ***ni***);**

**int notcurses_mice_enable(struct notcurses* ***n***, unsigned ***eventmask***);**

**int notcurses_mice_disable(struct notcurses* ***n***);**

**int notcurses_inputready_fd(struct notcurses* ***n***);**

**static inline bool ncinput_equal_p(const ncinput* ***n1***, const ncinput* ***n2***);**

**int notcurses_linesigs_disable(struct notcurses* ***n***);**

**int notcurses_linesigs_enable(struct notcurses* ***n***);**

**bool ncinput_shift_p(const struct ncinput* ***n***);**

**bool ncinput_ctrl_p(const struct ncinput* ***n***);**

**bool ncinput_alt_p(const struct ncinput* ***n***);**

**bool ncinput_meta_p(const struct ncinput* ***n***);**

**bool ncinput_super_p(const struct ncinput* ***n***);**

**bool ncinput_hyper_p(const struct ncinput* ***n***);**

# DESCRIPTION

notcurses supports input from keyboards and mice, and any device that looks
like them. Mouse support requires a broker such as GPM, Wayland, or Xorg, and
must be explicitly enabled via **notcurses_mice_enable**. The full 32-bit
range of Unicode is supported (see **unicode(7)**), with synthesized events
mapped above the 1,114,112 codepoints of Unicode 14.0's seventeen Planes.
Unicode characters are returned directly as UCS-32, one codepoint at a time.
When the input has a UTF8 representation, it is written to **utf8**; this
field is always NUL-terminated.

notcurses takes its keyboard input from **stdin**, which will be placed into
non-blocking mode for the duration of operation. The terminal is put into
non-canonical mode (see **termios(3)**), and thus keys are received without line-buffering.
notcurses maintains its own buffer of input characters, which it will attempt
to fill whenever it reads.

**notcurses_get** allows a **struct timespec** to be specified as a timeout.
If ***ts*** is **NULL**, **notcurses_get** will block until it reads input, or
is interrupted by a signal. If its values are zeroes, there will be no
blocking. Otherwise, ***ts*** specifies an absolute deadline (taken against
**CLOCK_MONOTONIC**; see **clock_gettime(2)**). On timeout, 0 is returned.
Event details will be reported in ***ni***, unless ***ni*** is NULL.

**notcurses_inputready_fd** provides a file descriptor suitable for use with
I/O multiplexors such as **poll(2)**. This file descriptor might or might not
be the actual input file descriptor. If it readable, **notcurses_get** can
be called without the possibility of blocking.

**ncinput_equal_p** compares two **ncinput** structs for data equality (i.e.
not considering padding), returning **true** if they represent the same
input (though not necessarily the same input event). Note that
**NCTYPE_UNKNOWN** and **NCTYPE_PRESS** are considered equivalent for the
purposes of **ncinput_equal_p**.

**notcurses_linesigs_disable** disables conversion of inputs **INTR**, **QUIT**,
**SUSP**, and **DSUSP** into **SIGINT**, **SIGQUIT**, and **SIGTSTP**. These
conversions are enabled by default. **notcurses_linesigs_enable** undoes this
action, but signals in the interim are permanently lost.

**ncinput_shift_p**, **ncinput_ctrl_p**, **ncinput_alt_p**, and
**ncinput_meta_p** test ***n*** to see if the relevant modifier is set.
This is preferably to directly accessing the struct members.

## Mice

For mouse events, the additional fields ***y***, ***x***, ***ypx***, and
***xpx*** are set. These fields are not meaningful for keypress events.
Mouse events can be distinguished using the **nckey_mouse_p** predicate.
**NCMICE_MOVE_EVENT** requests events whenever the mouse moves when no
buttons are held down. **NCMICE_DRAG_EVENT** requests events when the mouse
is moving with buttons held down. **NCMICE_BUTTON_EVENT** requests events
then the button state changes. **NCMICE_ALL_EVENTS** is provided for
convenience and future-proofing against API (though not ABI) changes.

## Synthesized keypresses

Many keys do not have a Unicode representation, let alone ASCII. Examples
include the modifier keys (Alt, Meta, etc.), the "function" keys, and the arrow
keys on the numeric keypad. The special keys available to the terminal are
defined in the **terminfo(5)** entry, which notcurses loads on startup. Upon
receiving an escape code matching a terminfo input capability, notcurses
synthesizes a special value. An escape sequence must arrive in its entirety to
notcurses; running out of input in the middle of an escape sequence will see it
rejected. Likewise, any error while handling an escape sequence will see the
lex aborted, and the sequence thus far played back as independent literal
keystrokes.

The full list of synthesized keys (there are well over one hundred) can be
found in **<notcurses/notcurses.h>**. For more details, consult **terminfo(5)**.

## **NCKEY_RESIZE**

Unless the **SIGWINCH** handler has been inhibited (see **notcurses_init**),
Notcurses will automatically catch screen resizes, and synthesize an
**NCKEY_RESIZE** event. Upon receiving this event, the user may call
**notcurses_refresh** to force an immediate reflow, or just wait until the
next call to **notcurses_render**, when notcurses will pick up the resize
itself. If the **SIGWINCH** handler is inhibited, **NCKEY_RESIZE** is never
generated.

## **NCKEY_SIGNAL**

Unless the **SIGWINCH** handler has been inhibited (see **notcurses_init**),
Notcurses will catch **SIGCONT**, and synthesize an **NCKEY_SIGNAL** event.
This typically indicates that the program has been restarted after being
paused or placed in the background. The next rasterization will be a full
rebuild of the screen, as if **notcurses_refresh** had been called; the user
might wish to immediately call **notcurses_refresh** themselves.

## **NCKEY_EOF**

Upon reaching the end of input, **NCKEY_EOF** will be returned. At this point,
any further calls will immediately return **NCKEY_EOF**. Note that this does
not necessarily result from pressing e.g. Ctrl+D.

# RETURN VALUES

On error, the **get** family of functions return **(uint32_t)-1**. The cause
of the error may be determined using **errno(3)**. Unless the error was a
temporary one (especially e.g. **EINTR**), **notcurses_get** probably cannot
be usefully called forthwith. On a timeout, 0 is returned. Otherwise, the
UCS-32 value of a Unicode codepoint, or a synthesized event, is returned.

If an error is encountered before **notcurses_getvec** has read any input,
it will return -1. If it times out before reading any input, it will return
0. Otherwise, it returns the number of **ncinput** objects written back.

**notcurses_mice_enable** returns 0 on success, and non-zero on failure, as
does **notcurses_mice_disable**. Success does not necessarily mean that a
mouse is available nor that all requested events will be generated.

**ncinput_equal_p** returns **true** if the two **ncinput** structs represent
the same input (though not necessarily the same input event), and
**false** otherwise.

# NOTES

Like any other notcurses function, it is an error to call **notcurses_get**
during or after a call to **notcurses_stop**. If a thread is always sitting
on blocking input, it can be tricky to guarantee that this doesn't happen.

Only one thread may call into the input stack at once, but unlike almost every
other function in notcurses, **notcurses_get** and friends can be called
concurrently with **notcurses_render**.

Do not simply **poll** the file descriptor associated with **stdin** to test
for input readiness. Instead, use the file descriptor returned by
**notcurses_inputready_fd** to ensure compatibility with future versions of
Notcurses (it is possible that future versions will process input in their own
contexts).

The full list of synthesized events is available in **<notcurses/nckeys.h>**.

In API4, the various **bool** modifier fields will go away, and these statuses
will be merged into the ***modifiers*** bitmask. You are encouraged to use
**ncinput_shift_p** and friends to future-proof your code.

# BUGS

Notcurses attempts to use the XTMODKEYS and Kitty keyboard disambiguation
protocols. When supported, they eliminate most of these issues.

The Shift key is traditionally not indicated in conjunction with typical
Unicode text. If e.g. Shift is used to generate a capital letter 'A', ***id***
will equal 'A', and ***shift*** will be **false**. Similarly, when Ctrl is
pressed along with a letter, the letter will currently always be reported in
its uppercase form. E.g., if Shift, Ctrl, and 'a' are all pressed, this is
indistinguishable from Ctrl and 'A'.

Ctrl pressed along with 'J' or 'M', whether Shift is pressed or not,
currently registers as **NCKEY_ENTER**. This will likely change in the
future.

When the Kitty keyboard disambiguation protocol is used, most of these
issues are resolved. You can determine whether the protocol is in use
by examining the output of **notcurses-info(1)**. If the **kbd** property
is indicated, you're using the Kitty protocol.

Note that eff_text will always return the effective text value of the key,
taking into account any meta keys pressed. (So shift-a will always return
'A' in this field, regardless of if the Kitty keyboard disambiguation
protocol is used.) This field generally only can be trusted on
**NCTYPE_PRESS** and **NCTYPE_REPEAT** events, however. Also note that 
this is a (zero-terminated) array as it can return multiple codepoints.

Mouse events in the left margins will never be delivered to the
application (as is intended), but mouse events in the bottom and right margins
sometimes can be if the event occurs prior to a window resize.

The ***ypx*** and ***xpx*** fields are never currently valid (i.e. they are
always -1). This ought be fixed in the future using the SGR PixelMode mouse
protocol.

On some operating systems, **CLOCK_REALTIME** is used as the basis for
timeouts instead of **CLOCK_MONOTONIC**. This ought be fixed.

# SEE ALSO

**notcurses-info(1)**,
**clock_gettime(2)**,
**poll(2)**,
**notcurses(3)**,
**notcurses_refresh(3)**,
**notcurses_render(3)**,
**termios(3)**,
**terminfo(5)**,
**ascii(7)**,
**signal(7)**,
**unicode(7)**
