# 2.11BSD#431 - /usr/man/cat1/window.0

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

    NAME
         window - window environment

    SYNOPSIS
         window [ -t ] [ -f ] [ -d ] [ -e escape-char ] [ -c command
         ]

    DESCRIPTION
         Window implements a window environment on ASCII terminals.

         A window is a rectangular portion of the physical terminal
         screen associated with a set of processes.  Its size and
         position can be changed by the user at any time.  Processes
         communicate with their window in the same way they normally
         interact with a terminal--through their standard input, out-
         put, and diagnostic file descriptors.  The window program
         handles the details of redirecting input an output to and
         from the windows.	At any one time, only one window can
         receive input from the keyboard, but all windows can simul-
         taneously send output to the display.

         Windows can overlap and are framed as necessary.  Each win-
         dow is named by one of the digits ``1'' to ``9''.	This one
         character identifier, as well as a user definable label
         string, are displayed with the window on the top edge of its
         frame.  A window can be designated to be in the foreground,
         in which case it will always be on top of all normal, non-
         foreground windows, and can be covered only by other fore-
         ground windows.  A window need not be completely within the
         edges of the terminal screen.  Thus a large window (possibly
         larger than the screen) may be positioned to show only a
         portion of its full size.

         Each window has a cursor and a set of control functions.
         Most intelligent terminal operations such as line and char-
         acter deletion and insertion are supported.  Display modes
         such as underlining and reverse video are available if they
         are supported by the terminal.  In addition, similar to ter-
         minals with multiple pages of memory, each window has a text
         buffer which can have more lines than the window itself.

    OPTIONS
         When window starts up, the commands (see long commands
         below) contained in the file .windowrc in the user's home
         directory are executed.  If it does not exist, two equal
         sized windows spanning the terminal screen are created by
         default.

         The command line options are

         -t   Turn on terse mode (see terse command below).

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986				1

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

         -f   Fast.  Don't perform any startup action.

         -d   Ignore .windowrc and create the two default windows
    	  instead.

         -e escape-char
    	  Set the escape character to escape-char.  Escape-char
    	  can be a single character, or in the form ^X where X is
    	  any character, meaning control-X.

         -c command
    	  Execute the string command as a long command (see
    	  below) before doing anything else.

    PROCESS ENVIRONMENT
         With each newly created window, a shell program is spawned
         with its process environment tailored to that window.  Its
         standard input, output, and diagnostic file descriptors are
         bound to one end of either a pseudo-terminal (pty (4)) or a
         UNIX domain socket (socketpair (4)).  If a pseudo-terminal
         is used, then its special characters and modes (see stty
         (1)) are copied from the physical terminal.  A termcap (5)
         entry tailored to this window is created and passed as
         environment (environ (5)) variable TERMCAP.  The termcap
         entry contains the window's size and characteristics as well
         as information from the physical terminal, such as the
         existence of underline, reverse video, and other display
         modes, and the codes produced by the terminal's function
         keys, if any.  In addition, the window size attributes of
         the pseudo-terminal are set to reflect the size of this win-
         dow, and updated whenever it is changed by the user.  In
         particular, the editor vi (1) uses this information to
         redraw its display.

    OPERATION
         During normal execution, window can be in one of two states:
         conversation mode and command mode.  In conversation mode,
         the terminal's real cursor is placed at the cursor position
         of a particular window--called the current window--and input
         from the keyboard is sent to the process in that window.
         The current window is always on top of all other windows,
         except those in foreground.  In addition, it is set apart by
         highlighting its identifier and label in reverse video.

         Typing window's escape character (normally ^P) in conversa-
         tion mode switches it into command mode.  In command mode,
         the top line of the terminal screen becomes the command
         prompt window, and window interprets input from the keyboard
         as commands to manipulate windows.

         There are two types of commands: short commands are usually
         one or two key strokes; long commands are strings either

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986				2

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

         typed by the user in the command window (see the ``:'' com-
         mand below), or read from a file (see source below).

    SHORT COMMANDS
         Below, # represents one of the digits ``1'' to ``9''
         corresponding to the windows 1 to 9.  ^X means control-X,
         where X is any character.	In particular, ^^ is control-^.
         Escape is the escape key, or ^[.

         #	  Select window # as the current window and return to
    	  conversation mode.

         %#   Select window # but stay in command mode.

         ^^   Select the previous window and return to conversation
    	  mode.  This is useful for toggling between two windows.

         escape
    	  Return to conversation mode.

         ^P   Return to conversation mode and write ^P to the current
    	  window.  Thus, typing two ^P's in conversation mode
    	  sends one to the current window.  If the window escape
    	  is changed to some other character, that character
    	  takes the place of ^P here.

         ?	  List a short summary of commands.

         ^L   Redraw the screen.

         q	  Exit window.	Confirmation is requested.

         ^Z   Suspend window.

         w	  Create a new window.	The user is prompted for the
    	  positions of the upper left and lower right corners of
    	  the window.  The cursor is placed on the screen and the
    	  keys ``h'', ``j'', ``k'', and ``l'' move the cursor
    	  left, down, up, and right, respectively.  The keys
    	  ``H'', ``J'', ``K'', and ``L'' move the cursor to the
    	  respective limits of the screen.  Typing a number
    	  before the movement keys repeats the movement that
    	  number of times.  Return enters the cursor position as
    	  the upper left corner of the window.	The lower right
    	  corner is entered in the same manner.  During this pro-
    	  cess, the placement of the new window is indicated by a
    	  rectangular box drawn on the screen, corresponding to
    	  where the new window will be framed.	Typing escape at
    	  any point cancels this command.

    	  This window becomes the current window, and is given
    	  the first available ID.  The default buffer size is

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986				3

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

    	  used (see nline command below).

    	  Only fully visible windows can be created this way.

         c#   Close window #.  The process in the window is sent the
    	  hangup signal (see kill (1)).  Csh (1) should handle
    	  this signal correctly and cause no problems.

         m#   Move window # to another location.  A box in the shape
    	  of the window is drawn on the screen to indicate the
    	  new position of the window, and the same keys as those
    	  for the w command are used to position the box.  The
    	  window can be moved partially off-screen.

         M#   Move window # to its previous position.

         s#   Change the size of window #.	The user is prompted to
    	  enter the new lower right corner of the window.  A box
    	  is drawn to indicate the new window size.  The same
    	  keys used in w and m are used to enter the position.

         S#   Change window # to its previous size.

         ^Y   Scroll the current window up by one line.

         ^E   Scroll the current window down by one line.

         ^U   Scroll the current window up by half the window size.

         ^D   Scroll the current window down by half the window size.

         ^B   Scroll the current window up by the full window size.

         ^F   Scroll the current window down by the full window size.

         h	  Move the cursor of the current window left by one
    	  column.

         j	  Move the cursor of the current window down by one line.

         k	  Move the cursor of the current window up by one line.

         l	  Move the cursor of the current window right by one
    	  column.

         ^S   Stop output in the current window.

         ^Q   Start output in the current window.

         :	  Enter a line to be executed as long commands.  Normal
    	  line editing characters (erase character, erase word,
    	  erase line) are supported.

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986				4

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

    LONG COMMANDS
         Long commands are a sequence of statements parsed much like
         a programming language, with a syntax similar to that of C.
         Numeric and string expressions and variables are supported,
         as well as conditional statements.

         There are two data types: string and number.  A string is a
         sequence of letters or digits beginning with a letter.
         ``_'' and ``.'' are considered letters.  Alternately, non-
         alphanumeric characters can be included in strings by quot-
         ing them in ``"'' or escaping them with ``\''.  In addition,
         the ``\'' sequences of C are supported, both inside and out-
         side quotes (e.g., ``\n'' is a new line, ``\r'' a carriage
         return).  For example, these are legal strings: abcde01234,
         "&#$^*&#", ab"$#"cd, ab\$\#cd, "/usr/ucb/window".

         A number is an integer value in one of three forms: a
         decimal number, an octal number preceded by ``0'', or a hex-
         adecimal number preceded by ``0x'' or ``0X''.  The natural
         machine integer size is used (i.e., the signed integer type
         of the C compiler).  As in C, a non-zero number represents a
         boolean true.

         The character ``#'' begins a comment which terminates at the
         end of the line.

         A statement is either a conditional or an expression.
         Expression statements are terminated with a new line or
         ``;''.  To continue an expression on the next line, ter-
         minate the first line with ``\''.

    CONDITIONAL STATEMENT
         Window has a single control structure: the fully bracketed
         if statement in the form
    	  if <expr> then
    	       <statement>
    	       . . .
    	  elsif <expr> then
    	       <statement>
    	       . . .
    	  else
    	       <statement>
    	       . . .
    	  endif
         The else and elsif parts are optional, and the latter can be
         repeated any number of times.  <Expr> must be numeric.

    EXPRESSIONS
         Expressions in window are similar to those in the C
         language, with most C operators supported on numeric
         operands.	In addition, some are overloaded to operate on
         strings.

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986				5

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

         When an expression is used as a statement, its value is dis-
         carded after evaluation.  Therefore, only expressions with
         side effects (assignments and function calls) are useful as
         statements.

         Single valued (no arrays) variables are supported, of both
         numeric and string values.  Some variables are predefined.
         They are listed below.

         The operators in order of increasing precedence:

         <expr1> = <expr2>
    	  Assignment.  The variable of name <expr1>, which must
    	  be string valued, is assigned the result of <expr2>.
    	  Returns the value of <expr2>.

         <expr1> ? <expr2> : <expr3>
    	  Returns the value of <expr2> if <expr1> evaluates true
    	  (non-zero numeric value); returns the value of <expr3>
    	  otherwise.  Only one of <expr2> and <expr3> is
    	  evaluated.  <Expr1> must be numeric.

         <expr1> || <expr2>
    	  Logical or.  Numeric values only.  Short circuit
    	  evaluation is supported (i.e., if <expr1> evaluates
    	  true, then <expr2> is not evaluated).

         <expr1> && <expr2>
    	  Logical and with short circuit evaluation.  Numeric
    	  values only.

         <expr1> | <expr2>
    	  Bitwise or.  Numeric values only.

         <expr1> ^ <expr2>
    	  Bitwise exclusive or.  Numeric values only.

         <expr1> & <expr2>
    	  Bitwise and.	Numeric values only.

         <expr1> == <expr2>, <expr1> != <expr2>
    	  Comparison (equal and not equal, respectively).  The
    	  boolean result (either 1 or 0) of the comparison is
    	  returned.  The operands can be numeric or string
    	  valued.  One string operand forces the other to be con-
    	  verted to a string in necessary.

         <expr1> < <expr2>, <expr1> > <expr2>,
    	  Less than, greater than, less than or equal to, greater
    	  than or equal to.  Both numeric and string values, with
    	  automatic conversion as above.

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986				6

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

         <expr1> << <expr2>, <expr1> >> <expr2>
    	  If both operands are numbers, <expr1> is bit shifted
    	  left (or right) by <expr2> bits.  If <expr1> is a
    	  string, then its first (or last) <expr2> characters are
    	  returns (if <expr2> is also a string, then its length
    	  is used in place of its value).

         <expr1> + <expr2>, <expr1> - <expr2>
    	  Addition and subtraction on numbers.	For ``+'', if one
    	  argument is a string, then the other is converted to a
    	  string, and the result is the concatenation of the two
    	  strings.

         <expr1> * <expr2>, <expr1> / <expr2>,
    	  Multiplication, division, modulo.  Numbers only.

         -<expr>, ~<expr>, !<expr>, $<expr>, $?<expr>
    	  The first three are unary minus, bitwise complement and
    	  logical complement on numbers only.  The operator,
    	  ``$'', takes <expr> and returns the value of the vari-
    	  able of that name.  If <expr> is numeric with value n
    	  and it appears within an alias macro (see below), then
    	  it refers to the nth argument of the alias invocation.
    	  ``$?'' tests for the existence of the variable <expr>,
    	  and returns 1 if it exists or 0 otherwise.

         <expr>(<arglist>)
    	  Function call.  <Expr> must be a string that is the
    	  unique prefix of the name of a builtin window function
    	  or the full name of a user defined alias macro.  In the
    	  case of a builtin function, <arglist> can be in one of
    	  two forms:
    	       <expr1>, <expr2>, . . .
    	       argname1 = <expr1>, argname2 = <expr2>, . . .
    	  The two forms can in fact be intermixed, but the result
    	  is unpredictable.  Most arguments can be omitted;
    	  default values will be supplied for them.  The argnames
    	  can be unique prefixes of the the argument names.  The
    	  commas separating arguments are used only to disambigu-
    	  ate, and can usually be omitted.

    	  Only the first argument form is valid for user defined
    	  aliases.  Aliases are defined using the alias builtin
    	  function (see below).  Arguments are accessed via a
    	  variant of the variable mechanism (see ``$'' operator
    	  above).

    	  Most functions return value, but some are used for side
    	  effect only and so must be used as statements.  When a
    	  function or an alias is used as a statement, the
    	  parenthesis surrounding the argument list may be omit-
    	  ted.	Aliases return no value.

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986				7

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

    BUILTIN FUNCTIONS
         The arguments are listed by name in their natural order.
         Optional arguments are in square brackets (``[ ]'').  Argu-
         ments that have no names are in angle brackets (``<>'').

         alias([<string>], [<string-list>])
    	  If no argument is given, all currently defined alias
    	  macros are listed.  Otherwise, <string> is defined as
    	  an alias, with expansion <string-list>.  The previous
    	  definition of <string>, if any, is returned.	Default
    	  for <string-list> is no change.

         close(<window-list>)
    	  Close the windows specified in <window-list>.  If
    	  <window-list> is the word all, than all windows are
    	  closed.  No value is returned.

         cursormodes([modes])
    	  Set the window cursor to modes.  Modes is the bitwise
    	  or of the mode bits defined as the variables m_ul
    	  (underline), m_rev (reverse video), m_blk (blinking),
    	  and m_grp (graphics, terminal dependent).  Return value
    	  is the previous modes.  Default is no change.  For
    	  example, cursor($m_rev|$m_blk) sets the window cursors
    	  to blinking reverse video.

         echo([window], [<string-list>])
    	  Write the list of strings, <string-list>, to window,
    	  separated by spaces and terminated with a new line.
    	  The strings are only displayed in the window, the
    	  processes in the window are not involved (see write
    	  below).  No value is returned.  Default is the current
    	  window.

         escape([escapec])
    	  Set the escape character to escape-char.  Returns the
    	  old escape character as a one character string.
    	  Default is no change.  Escapec can be a string of a
    	  single character, or in the form ^X, meaning control-X.

         foreground([window], [flag])
    	  Move window in or out of foreground.	Flag can be one
    	  of on, off, yes, no, true, or false, with obvious mean-
    	  ings, or it can be a numeric expression, in which case
    	  a non-zero value is true.  Returns the old foreground
    	  flag as a number.  Default for window is the current
    	  window, default for flag is no change.

         label([window], [label])
    	  Set the label of window to label.  Returns the old
    	  label as a string.  Default for window is the current
    	  window, default for label is no change.  To turn off a

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986				8

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

    	  label, set it to an empty string ("").

         list()
    	  No arguments.  List the identifiers and labels of all
    	  windows.  No value is returned.

         nline([nline])
    	  Set the default buffer size to nline.  Initially, it is
    	  48 lines.  Returns the old default buffer size.
    	  Default is no change.  Using a very large buffer can
    	  slow the program down considerably.

         select([window])
    	  Make window the current window.  The previous current
    	  window is returned.  Default is no change.

         shell([<string-list>])
    	  Set the default window shell program to <string-list>.
    	  Returns the first string in the old shell setting.
    	  Default is no change.  Initially, the default shell is
    	  taken from the environment variable SHELL.

         source(filename)
    	  Read and execute the long commands in filename.
    	  Returns -1 if the file cannot be read, 0 otherwise.

         terse([flag])
    	  Set terse mode to flag.  In terse mode, the command
    	  window stays hidden even in command mode, and errors
    	  are reported by sounding the terminal's bell.  Flag can
    	  take on the same values as in foreground above.
    	  Returns the old terse flag.  Default is no change.

         unalias(alias)
    	  Undefine alias.  Returns -1 if alias does not exist, 0
    	  otherwise.

         unset(variable)
    	  Undefine variable.  Returns -1 if variable does not
    	  exist, 0 otherwise.

         variables()
    	  No arguments.  List all variables.  No value is
    	  returned.

         window([row], [column], [nrow], [ncol], [nline], [frame],
    	  [pty], [mapnl], [shell])
    	  Open a window with upper left corner at row, column and
    	  size nrow, ncol.  If nline is specified, then that many
    	  lines are allocated for the text buffer.  Otherwise,
    	  the default buffer size is used.  Default values for
    	  row, column, nrow, and ncol are, respectively, the

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986				9

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

    	  upper, left-most, lower, or right-most extremes of the
    	  screen.  Frame, pty, and mapnl are flag values inter-
    	  preted in the same way as the argument to foreground
    	  (see above); they mean, respectively, put a frame
    	  around this window (default true), allocate pseudo-
    	  terminal for this window rather than socketpair
    	  (default true), and map new line characters in this
    	  window to carriage return and line feed (default true
    	  if socketpair is used, false otherwise).  Shell is a
    	  list of strings that will be used as the shell program
    	  to place in the window (default is the program speci-
    	  fied by shell, see below).  The created window's iden-
    	  tifier is returned as a number.

         write([window], [<string-list>])
    	  Send the list of strings, <string-list>, to window,
    	  separated by spaces but not terminated with a new line.
    	  The strings are actually given to the window as input.
    	  No value is returned.  Default is the current window.

    PREDEFINED VARIABLES
         These variables are for information only.	Redefining them
         does not affect the internal operation of window.

         baud The baud rate as a number between 50 and 38400.

         modes
    	  The display modes (reverse video, underline, blinking,
    	  graphics) supported by the physical terminal.  The
    	  value of modes is the bitwise or of some of the one bit
    	  values, m_blk, m_grp, m_rev, and m_ul (see below).
    	  These values are useful in setting the window cursors'
    	  modes (see cursormodes above).

         m_blk
    	  The blinking mode bit.

         m_grp
    	  The graphics mode bit (not very useful).

         m_rev
    	  The reverse video mode bit.

         m_ul The underline mode bit.

         ncol The number of columns on the physical screen.

         nrow The number of rows on the physical screen.

         term The terminal type.  The standard name, found in the
    	  second name field of the terminal's TERMCAP entry, is
    	  used.

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986			       10

    WINDOW(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual		WINDOW(1)

    FILES
         ~/.windowrc    startup command file.
         /dev/[pt]ty[pq]?pseudo-terminal devices.

    DIAGNOSTICS
         Should be self explanatory.

    BUGS

    Printed 11/26/99	  May 12, 1986			       11

Generated: 2016-12-26 | Generated by man2html V0.25 page hit count: 441 |