NAME

       menu - curses extension for programming menus

SYNOPSIS

       #include <menu.h>

DESCRIPTION

       The  menu  library  provides terminal-independent facilities for composing menu systems on
       character-cell terminals.  The library includes: item routines, which  create  and  modify
       menu  items; and menu routines, which group items into menus, display menus on the screen,
       and handle interaction with the user.

       The menu library uses the curses libraries, and a curses initialization  routine  such  as
       initscr must be called before using any of these functions.  To use the menu library, link
       with the options -lmenu -lcurses.

   Current Default Values for Item Attributes
       The menu library maintains a default value for item attributes.  You can get or  set  this
       default  by  calling  the  appropriate  get_  or  set_  routine  with a NULL item pointer.
       Changing this default with a set_ function affects future item  creations,  but  does  not
       change the rendering of items already created.

   Routine Name Index
       The following table lists each menu routine and the name of the manual page on which it is
       described.

       curses Routine Name    Manual Page Name
       ───────────────────────────────────────────
       current_item           menu_current(3MENU)
       free_item              menu_new(3MENU)
       free_menu              new(3MENU)
       item_count             items(3MENU)
       item_description       menu_name(3MENU)
       item_index             menu_current(3MENU)
       item_init              hook(3MENU)
       item_name              menu_name(3MENU)
       item_opts              menu_opts(3MENU)
       item_opts_off          menu_opts(3MENU)
       item_opts_on           menu_opts(3MENU)
       item_term              hook(3MENU)
       item_userptr           menu_userptr(3MENU)
       item_value             menu_value(3MENU)
       item_visible           menu_visible(3MENU)
       menu_back              attributes(3MENU)
       menu_driver            driver(3MENU)
       menu_fore              attributes(3MENU)
       menu_format            format(3MENU)
       menu_grey              attributes(3MENU)
       menu_init              hook(3MENU)
       menu_items             items(3MENU)
       menu_mark              mark(3MENU)
       menu_opts              opts(3MENU)
       menu_opts_off          opts(3MENU)
       menu_opts_on           opts(3MENU)
       menu_pad               attributes(3MENU)
       menu_pattern           pattern(3MENU)
       menu_request_by_name   requestname(3MENU)
       menu_request_name      requestname(3MENU)
       menu_spacing           spacing(3MENU)
       menu_sub               win(3MENU)
       menu_term              hook(3MENU)

       menu_userptr           userptr(3MENU)
       menu_win               win(3MENU)
       new_item               menu_new(3MENU)
       new_menu               new(3MENU)
       pos_menu_cursor        cursor(3MENU)
       post_menu              post(3MENU)
       scale_menu             win(3MENU)
       set_current_item       menu_current(3MENU)
       set_item_init          hook(3MENU)
       set_item_opts          menu_opts(3MENU)
       set_item_term          hook(3MENU)
       set_item_userptr       menu_userptr(3MENU)
       set_item_value         menu_value(3MENU)
       set_menu_back          attributes(3MENU)
       set_menu_fore          attributes(3MENU)
       set_menu_format        format(3MENU)
       set_menu_grey          attributes(3MENU)
       set_menu_init          hook(3MENU)
       set_menu_items         items(3MENU)
       set_menu_mark          mark(3MENU)
       set_menu_opts          menu_opts(3MENU)
       set_menu_pad           attributes(3MENU)
       set_menu_pattern       pattern(3MENU)
       set_menu_spacing       spacing(3MENU)
       set_menu_sub           win(3MENU)
       set_menu_term          hook(3MENU)
       set_menu_userptr       userptr(3MENU)
       set_menu_win           win(3MENU)
       set_top_row            menu_current(3MENU)
       top_row                menu_current(3MENU)
       unpost_menu            post(3MENU)

RETURN VALUE

       Routines that return pointers return NULL on  error.   Routines  that  return  an  integer
       return one of the following error codes:

       E_OK The routine succeeded.

       E_BAD_ARGUMENT
            Routine detected an incorrect or out-of-range argument.

       E_BAD_STATE
            Routine was called from an initialization or termination function.

       E_NO_MATCH
            Character failed to match.

       E_NO_ROOM
            Menu is too large for its window.

       E_NOT_CONNECTED
            No items are connected to the menu.

       E_NOT_POSTED
            The menu has not been posted.

       E_NOT_SELECTABLE
            The designated item cannot be selected.

       E_POSTED
            The menu is already posted.

       E_REQUEST_DENIED
            The menu driver could not process the request.

       E_SYSTEM_ERROR
            System error occurred (see errno(3)).

       E_UNKNOWN_COMMAND
            The menu driver code saw an unknown request code.

NOTES

       The header file menu.h itself includes the header file curses.h.

PORTABILITY

       These routines emulate the System V menu library.  They were not supported on Version 7 or
       BSD versions.

       A menu facility was documented in SVr4.2's Character User Interface Programming document.

       It is not part of X/Open Curses.

       Aside from ncurses, there are few implementations:

       •   systems based on SVr4 source code, e.g., Solaris.

       •   NetBSD curses.

AUTHORS

       Juergen Pfeifer.  Manual pages and adaptation for ncurses by Eric S. Raymond.

SEE ALSO

       ncurses(3NCURSES) and related pages whose names begin “menu_” for detailed descriptions of
       the entry points.