From owner-freebsd-current Mon Apr 8 10:20:05 1996 Return-Path: owner-current Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) id KAA11084 for current-outgoing; Mon, 8 Apr 1996 10:20:05 -0700 (PDT) Received: from locke.ccil.org (esr@locke.ccil.org [205.164.136.88]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) with SMTP id KAA10995 for ; Mon, 8 Apr 1996 10:19:55 -0700 (PDT) Received: (esr@localhost) by locke.ccil.org (8.6.9/8.6.10) id NAA08172; Mon, 8 Apr 1996 13:17:08 -0400 From: "Eric S. Raymond" Message-Id: <199604081717.NAA08172@locke.ccil.org> Subject: Re: terminfo-less ncurses To: ache@astral.msk.su (=?KOI8-R?Q?=E1=CE=C4=D2=C5=CA_=FE=C5=D2=CE=CF=D7?=) Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 13:17:07 -0400 (EDT) Cc: scrappy@ki.net, current@freebsd.org, ncurses-list@netcom.com In-Reply-To: <199604080408.IAA00669@astral.msk.su> from "=?KOI8-R?Q?=E1=CE=C4=D2=C5=CA_=FE=C5=D2=CE=CF=D7?=" at Apr 8, 96 08:08:55 am X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL24] Content-Type: text Sender: owner-current@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk Andrew Chernov writes: > Terminfo abuses filesystem with its database, Berkeley *.db termcap database > give much faster results for searches. Terminfo is not extendable. > Modern termcap have all terminfo cababilities. I totally disagree. 1. The terminfo database is no more an `abuse' of the filesystem than home directories are -- both cases legitimately use the filesystem for name lookup. 2. The alleged higher speed of 4BSD search is a red herring -- the proper figure to look at is the entire load time per entry, and terminfo wins on this one because the capabilities are pre-digested. 3. The supposed non-extendibility of terminfo is a non-issue. Nobody has seriously proposed any termcap extensions other than those intended to mimic terminfo for many years now. Terminfo suffices -- and, if it did not, it does in fact have some extension capability. 4. Modern termcap has nowhere *near* the capabilities of terminfo, as I know for certain because I have had to become intimately familiar with both. > Total terminfo disabulity isn't possible with current ncurses, > so additional patch needed. If it will be configure option, > it will be even better. So far, I see no case whatsoever for keeping termcap alive. Nor does Keith Bostic, who wrote and maintained the 4.4BSD implementation. You'll have to work pretty hard to make such a case. -- >>esr>>