Files under /usr/share/lib/terminfo are used to name terminals and describe their capabilities. These files are in the format described in terminfo(4). Entries in terminfo source files consist of a number of comma-separated fields. To print a description of a terminal term, use the command infocmp -I term [see infocmp(1M)]. White space after each comma is ignored. The first line of each terminal description in the terminfo database gives the names by which terminfo knows the terminal, separated by bar (|) characters. The first name given is the most common abbreviation for the terminal [this is the one to use to set the environment variable TERMINFO in $HOME/.profile; see profile(4)], the last name given should be a long name fully identifying the terminal, and all others are understood as synonyms for the terminal name. All names but the last should contain no blanks and must be unique in the first 14 characters; the last name may contain blanks for readability.
Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry) should be chosen using the following conventions. The particular piece of hardware making up the terminal should have a root name chosen, for example, for the AT&T 4425 terminal, att4425. This name should not contain hyphens, except that synonyms may be chosen that do not conflict with other names. Up to 8 characters, chosen from the set a through z and 0 through 9, make up a basic terminal name. Names should generally be based on original vendors rather than local distributors. A terminal acquired from one vendor should not have more than one distinct basic name. Terminal sub-models, operational modes that the hardware can be in, or user preferences should be indicated by appending a hyphen and an indicator of the mode. Thus, an AT&T 4425 terminal in 132 column mode is att4425-w. The following suffixes should be used where possible:
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -w | Wide mode (more than 80 columns) | att4425-w |
| -am | With auto. margins (usually default) | vt100-am |
| -nam | Without automatic margins | vt100-nam |
| -n | Number of lines on the screen | aaa-60 |
| -na | No arrow keys (leave them in local) | c100-na |
| -np | Number of pages of memory | c100-4p |
| -rv | Reverse video | att4415-rv |
To avoid conflicts with the naming conventions used in
describing the different modes of a terminal (for example,
-w), it is recommended that a terminal's
root name not contain hyphens.
Further, it is good practice to make all terminal
names used in the
terminfo(4)
database unique.
Terminal entries that are present only for
inclusion in other entries via the
use= facilities should have a '+' in their name,
as in
4415+nl.
Here are some of the known terminal names: (For a complete list, enter the command ls -C /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?.)
| 2621,hp2621 | Hewlett-Packard 2621 series |
| 2631 | Hewlett-Packard 2631 line printer |
| 2631-c | Hewlett-Packard 2631 line printer, compressed mode |
| 2631-e | Hewlett-Packard 2631 line printer, expanded mode |
| 2640,hp2640 | Hewlett-Packard 2640 series |
| 2645,hp2645 | Hewlett-Packard 2645 series |
| 3270 | IBM Model 3270 |
| 33,tty33 | AT&T Teletype Model 33 KSR |
| 35,tty35 | AT&T Teletype Model 35 KSR |
| 37,tty37 | AT&T Teletype Model 37 KSR |
| 4000a | Trendata 4000a |
| 4014,tek4014 | TEKTRONIX 4014 |
| 40,tty40 | AT&T Teletype Dataspeed 40/2 |
| 43,tty43 | AT&T Teletype Model 43 KSR |
| 4410,5410 | AT&T 4410/5410 in 80-column mode, version 2 |
| 4410-nfk,5410-nfk | AT&T 4410/5410 without function keys, version 1 |
| 4410-nsl,5410-nsl | AT&T 4410/5410 without pln defined |
| 4410-w,5410-w | AT&T 4410/5410 in 132-column mode |
| 4410v1,5410v1 | AT&T 4410/5410 in 80-column mode, version 1 |
| 4410v1-w,5410v1-w | AT&T 4410/5410 in 132-column mode, version 1 |
| 4418,5418 | AT&T 5418 in 80-column mode |
| 4418-w,5418-w | AT&T 5418 in 132-column mode |
| 4420 | AT&T Teletype Model 4420 |
| 4424 | AT&T Teletype Model 4424 |
| 4424-2 | AT&T Teletype Model 4424 in display function group ii |
| 4425,5425 | AT&T 4425/5425 |
| 4425-fk,5425-fk | AT&T 4425/5425 without function keys |
| 4425-nl,5425-nl | AT&T 4425/5425 without changing labels in 80-column mode |
| 4425-w,5425-w | AT&T 4425/5425 in 132-column mode |
| 4425-w-fk,5425-w-fk | AT&T 4425/5425 without function keys in 132-column mode |
| 4425-nl-w,5425-nl-w | AT&T 4425/5425 without changing labels in 132-column mode |
| 4426 | AT&T Teletype Model 4426S |
| 450 | DASI 450 (same as Diablo 1620) |
| 450-12 | DASI 450 in 12-pitch mode |
| 500,att500 | AT&T-IS 500 terminal |
| 510,510a | AT&T 510/510a in 80-column mode |
| 513bct,att513 | AT&T 513 bct terminal |
| 5320 | AT&T 5320 hardcopy terminal |
| 5420_2 | AT&T 5420 model 2 in 80-column mode |
| 5420_2-w | AT&T 5420 model 2 in 132-column mode |
| 610,610bct | AT&T 610 bct terminal in 80-column mode |
| 610-w,610bct-w | AT&T 610 bct terminal in 132-column mode |
| 630,630MTG | AT&T 630 Multi-Tasking Graphics terminal |
| 735,ti | Texas Instruments TI735 and TI725 |
| 745 | Texas Instruments TI745 |
| dumb | generic name for terminals that lack reverse line-feed and other special escape sequences |
| hp | Hewlett-Packard (same as 2645) |
| lp | generic name for a line printer |
| pt505 | AT&T Personal Terminal 505 (22 lines) |
| pt505-24 | AT&T Personal Terminal 505 (24-line mode) |
| sync | generic name for synchronous Teletype Model 4540-compatible terminals |
Commands whose behavior depends on the type of terminal should accept arguments of the form -Tterm where term is one of the names given above; if no such argument is present, such commands should obtain the terminal type from the environment variable TERM, which, in turn, should contain term.
compiled terminal description database