NCURSES Meaning and
Definition
-
ncurses is a library created for developing text-based user interfaces (TUIs) in Unix-like operating systems. It stands for "New Curses," serving as an extension and replacement for the older curses library. ncurses provides a set of functions that allow programmers to control the placement and appearance of text on the terminal screen.
The library enables the development of interactive programs that can receive user input and display output on the text-based interface. It facilitates the creation of windows, panels, and menus, which can be used to organize and structure the user interface. Additionally, ncurses includes terminal-independent functions, enabling the creation of programs that work consistently across various terminal types.
What sets ncurses apart is its ability to overcome the constraints of different terminal models and provide a unified interface for programmers to work with. It achieves this by abstracting terminal-specific functionalities into a common set of functions, allowing programmers to focus on application logic rather than worrying about the intricacies of different terminals.
Overall, ncurses is a powerful library that simplifies the development of text-based user interfaces in Unix-like systems. It provides a consistent framework for controlling terminal output and input, allowing for the creation of interactive programs that adhere to a unified design.
Etymology of NCURSES
The word "ncurses" is derived from "new curses" where "curses" is a reference to the term "cursor optimization" which is a programming technique used to manipulate a cursor on a text-based terminal interface. "new curses" refers to the updated version of the original "curses" library, which provided a way to create text-based user interfaces on early computer systems. The "n" in "ncurses" signifies that it is the new version of the library.
