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.\" Copyright 2018-2022,2023 Thomas E. Dickey                                *
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.\" $Id: curs_instr.3x,v 1.44 2023/12/16 20:32:22 tom Exp $
.TH instr 3NCURSES 2023-12-16 "ncurses 6.4" "Library calls"
.ie \n(.g \{\
.ds `` \(lq
.ds '' \(rq
.\}
.el \{\
.ie t .ds `` ``
.el   .ds `` ""
.ie t .ds '' ''
.el   .ds '' ""
.\}
.
.de bP
.ie n  .IP \(bu 4
.el    .IP \(bu 2
..
.SH NAME
\fB\%instr\fP,
\fB\%innstr\fP,
\fB\%winstr\fP,
\fB\%winnstr\fP,
\fB\%mvinstr\fP,
\fB\%mvinnstr\fP,
\fB\%mvwinstr\fP,
\fB\%mvwinnstr\fP \-
get a string from a \fIcurses\fR window
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
\fB#include <ncursesw/curses.h>
.PP
\fBint instr(char *\fIstr\fP);
\fBint innstr(char *\fIstr\fP, int \fIn\fP);
\fBint winstr(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, char *\fIstr\fP);
\fBint winnstr(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, char *\fIstr\fP, int \fIn\fP);
.PP
\fBint mvinstr(int \fIy\fP, int \fIx\fP, char *\fIstr\fP);
\fBint mvinnstr(int \fIy\fP, int \fIx\fP, char *\fIstr\fP, int \fIn\fP);
\fBint mvwinstr(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, int \fIy\fP, int \fIx\fP, char *\fIstr\fP);
\fBint mvwinnstr(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, int \fIy\fP, int \fIx\fP, char *\fIstr\fP, int \fIn\fP);
.fi
.SH DESCRIPTION
These routines return a string of characters in \fIstr\fP,
starting at the current cursor position in the named window.
Attributes are stripped from the characters.
.PP
The four functions with \fIn\fP as the last argument return
a leading substring at most \fIn\fP characters long
(exclusive of the trailing NUL).
Transfer stops at the end of the current line, or when \fIn\fP characters have
been stored at the location referenced by \fIstr\fP.
.SH RETURN VALUE
All of the functions return \fBERR\fP upon failure,
or the number of characters actually read into the string.
.PP
X/Open Curses defines no error conditions.
This implementation returns an error
.bP
if the \fIwin\fP parameter is null or
.bP
if the \fIchstr\fP parameter is null.
.PP
Functions with a \*(``mv\*('' prefix first perform a cursor movement using
\fBwmove\fP, and return an error if the position is outside the window,
or if the window pointer is null.
.SH NOTES
All routines except \fBwinnstr\fP may be macros.
.PP
Reading a line that overflows the array pointed to by
\fIstr\fP
with
\fBinstr\fP,
\fBmvinstr\fP,
\fBmvwinstr\fP
or
\fBwinstr\fP
causes undefined results.
Therefore, the use of
\fBinnstr\fP,
\fBmvinnstr\fP,
\fBmvwinnstr\fP, or
\fBwinnstr\fP
is recommended.
.SH PORTABILITY
SVr4 does not
document whether a length limit includes or excludes the trailing NUL.
.PP
The \fI\%ncurses\fP library extends the XSI description by allowing a
negative value for \fIn\fP.
In this case, the functions return the string ending at the right margin.
.SH SEE ALSO
\fB\%ncurses\fP(3NCURSES),
\fB\%inch\fP(3NCURSES),
\fB\%inchstr\fP(3NCURSES),
\fB\%inwstr\fP(3NCURSES),
\fB\%in_wchstr\fP(3NCURSES)