Thread: ncurses, how do i check how many colors my terminal supports?

  1. #1
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    ncurses, how do i check how many colors my terminal supports?

    I'm generating all ncurses color pairs like this

    Code:
    void generate_all_color_pairs(){        int foreground;
            int background;
            int i = 0;
    
    
            for(foreground=0; foreground<8; foreground++){          
                    for(background=0; background<8; background++){
                            i++;
                            init_pair(i, foreground, background);
                    }
            }
    }
    but according on several sources, some terminals suport more colors.

    Is there any way to determine how many colors the current terminal supports?

  2. #2
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    terminfo(5): terminal capability data base - Linux man page
    Scroll down to "Color Handling"

    Also look up termcap as well.
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

  3. #3
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    After calling initscr(), you can use LINES, COLS and COLOR_PAIRS to determine if the numbers meet your program requirements. Here is an example of how I initialize some curses programs

    Code:
    #include <curses.h>
    #include <stdlib.h>
    #include <unistd.h>
    #include <errno.h>
    #include <assert.h>
    #include <string.h>
    
    #define PROGNAME "curses_init"
    #define REQD_COLOR_PAIRS (5)
    #define REQD_COLS (40)
    #define REQD_LINES (7)
    int main(void)
    {
    /* Verify terminal capabilities */
    	if (!isatty(1) || initscr() == NULL) {
    		fprintf(stderr, "%s: This program must be run from a terminal!\n",
    				PROGNAME);
    		return EXIT_FAILURE;
    	}
    	if (has_colors() && COLOR_PAIRS < REQD_COLOR_PAIRS) {
    		printw("This program requires at least %d colors (%d found)\n", 
    				REQD_COLOR_PAIRS, COLOR_PAIRS);
    		goto cleanup_curses;
    	}
    	if (!has_colors()) {
    		printw("This program requires colors (no support found)\n");
    		goto cleanup_curses;
    	}
    	if (COLS < REQD_COLS || LINES < REQD_LINES) {
    		printw("Terminal must be at least %dx%d!\n", REQD_COLS, REQD_LINES);
    		goto cleanup_curses;
    	}
    	
    /* Initialize all the colors */
    	printw("This terminal supports %d colors\n", COLOR_PAIRS);
    	start_color();
    	init_pair(1, COLOR_WHITE, COLOR_BLACK);
    	init_pair(2, COLOR_GREEN, COLOR_BLACK);
    	init_pair(3, COLOR_BLUE, COLOR_BLACK);
    	init_pair(4, COLOR_CYAN, COLOR_BLACK);
    	init_pair(5, COLOR_YELLOW, COLOR_BLUE);
    	assert(5 <= REQD_COLOR_PAIRS);
    	
    	for (int i=1; i <= 5; i++) {
    		attron(COLOR_PAIR(i));
    		printw("This is color pair %d\n", i);
    	}
    	assert(6 <= REQD_LINES);
    	assert(strlen("This is color pair XXX\n") <= REQD_COLS);	
    	refresh();
    
    /* End of program */
    cleanup_curses:
    	attron(COLOR_PAIR(5) | A_BOLD );
    	mvprintw(LINES-1,0,"Press any key to end the program...");
    	refresh();
    	getch();
    	endwin();
    	return EXIT_SUCCESS;
    }

  4. #4
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    Thank you, I'll experiment in different terminals and see how they differ.

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