Ncursescompatible

Ncurses-compatible describes software that adheres to the application programming interface of the ncurses library, enabling programs written for ncurses to compile and run with minimal modification on systems that provide ncurses or a compatible implementation. The term is commonly used in documentation, packaging notes, and source code to indicate API compatibility rather than exact binary compatibility.

Ncurses is a free software library that provides terminal handling and user interface widgets for text-based applications. It evolved from BSD curses and relies on a terminfo database to manage terminal capabilities. An ncurses-compatible program typically uses the curses API, including functions such as initscr, endwin, cbreak, noecho, and keypad, along with higher-level components from the forms, menus, and panels libraries. Developers can also rely on standard headers like curses.h and link against libncurses to achieve compatibility.

In practice, software labeled ncurses-compatible aims to be portable across Unix-like systems where ncurses is present. On Windows, ports such as PDCurses offer an ncurses-compatible API, enabling many Unix-originated text-based programs to run with minimal changes. Some projects provide wrappers or alternative libraries that claim ncurses compatibility by mapping their own API onto the ncurses interface.

Limitations exist: while the API may be compatible, behavioral differences can arise due to terminal quirks, varying color support, or incomplete implementation of certain widgets. As a result, testing across target terminals and environments remains important. Related concepts include curses, terminfo, and termcap, all of which underpin the portability and functionality of ncurses-compatible software.