According to Greg A. Woods:
>
>There has been a totally free (i.e. public domain) termlib/termcap
>library that can read either terminfo files or termcap entries for quite
>a few years now.  An adapted version of this code is included in
>ncurses to convert entries from termcap to terminfo.
>

You know how awkwardly free software can sit within the NetBSD
copyright framework.  It would be better if we improve what we have
under the current license.

>Personally I'd like to see NetBSD just switch to ncurses-4 and be done
>with it.  Ncurses-1 is a dead-end and our current curses sucks big time
>(and has also been declared a dead-end).

Our curses is not dead.  It has just had somewhat of a face lift and
will get more.

>  FYI:  "Beginning with release
>4.2, ncurses is distributed under an MIT-style license."  If this is
>already being done now behind the scenes, whomever is doing it should
>let me know if there's anything I can do to help.
>

AFAIK ncurses integration is on hold.  Changes to our curses has made
the need for ncurses abate somewhat.


>ordering are much more difficult issues to avoid.  Any storage scheme is
>*possible* with terminfo -- it's just one heck of a lot simpler to
>maintain binary compatability if you have to run third-party binaries
>that might have been statically compiled with someone else's
>implementation.
>

That would be something that can be taken care of in the set up of the
emulation environment - I don't see that our terminfo need be limited
by this consideration at all.


-- 
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Brett Lymn, Computer Systems Administrator, British Aerospace Australia
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