form_field_buffer(3X)

💖 form_field_buffer(3X) — the group chat guide 💖

okay bestie so this is form_field_buffer from the ncurses library calls corner of the manual, and it's literally all about field buffer control. no cap, it's the page you want when you're messing with what's actually inside a form field. let's get into it 🫶

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <form.h>

int set_field_buffer(FIELD *field, int buf, const char *value);
char *field_buffer(const FIELD *field, int buffer);

int set_field_status(FIELD *field, bool status);
bool field_status(const FIELD *field);

int set_max_field(FIELD *field, int max);

like, five whole functions. slay. 💅

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

🎀 set_field_buffer

set_field_buffer sets the numbered buffer of the given field so it contains a given string. and here's the tea on those buffers:

• Buffer 0 is the displayed value of the field. that's the one you actually see, the main character. 👑
• other numbered buffers may be allocated by applications through the nbuf argument of (see form_field_new(3X)) — but lowkey the forms library does not manipulate those. they're yours to deal with, bestie.

🦋 field_buffer

field_buffer hands you back a pointer to the contents of the given numbered buffer. important lore:

• the buffer contents always have the same length, and they get padded with trailing spaces as needed so that length stays the same. consistent queen. ✨
• the buffer may contain leading spaces, depending on how it was set. so don't come for it.
• the buffer contents get set with set_field_buffer, or as a side effect of any editing operations on the corresponding field.
• editing operations are based on the window which displays the field, rather than a string. that window contains only printable characters, and it's filled with blanks. so if you want the raw data, you have to write your own routine that copies the value out of the buffer and removes the leading and trailing spaces. do it yourself, bestie, the library is not gonna do it for you 😭
• because editing operations change the content of the buffer to correspond to the window, you should not rely on using buffers for long-term storage of form data. fr fr, don't do it. it's giving temporary.

💫 set_field_status / field_status

set_field_status sets the associated status flag of field; field_status gets the current value. the status flag is set to a nonzero value whenever the field changes. it's basically the field's "not me updating my story" notification. 🙈

🧚 set_max_field

set_max_field sets the maximum size for a dynamic field. an argument of 0 turns off any maximum size threshold for that field. zero means no limits, live your truth. periodt.

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💜 RETURN VALUE 💜

field_buffer returns NULL on error. it sets errno according to their success:

• E_OK — the routine succeeded. ate. 🔥
• E_BAD_ARGUMENT — routine detected an incorrect or out-of-range argument. bestie what did you pass in 😭

field_status returns TRUE or FALSE. simple as that.

the remaining routines return one of the following:

• E_OK — the routine succeeded.
• E_SYSTEM_ERROR — system error occurred (see errno(3)). 💀
• E_BAD_ARGUMENT — routine detected an incorrect or out-of-range argument.

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🌈 NOTES 🌈

when configured for wide characters, field_buffer returns a pointer to temporary storage (allocated and freed by the library). the application should not attempt to modify the data. it will be freed on the next call to field_buffer to return the same buffer. so like, don't touch it, don't save it, don't text it back. it's gone on the next call. 🙈

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👑 PORTABILITY 👑

these routines emulate the System V forms library. they were not supported on Version 7 or BSD versions. so if you're on an old-school vibe, iykyk, this isn't there. 💀

the set_max_field function checks for an ncurses extension O_INPUT_FIELD which allows a dynamic field to shrink if the new limit is smaller than the current field size. tiny field era, we love to see it.

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🫶 AUTHORS 🫶

Juergen Pfeifer. manual pages and adaptation for new curses by Eric S. Raymond. kings. 👑

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⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

curses(3X) and related pages whose names begin "form_" for detailed descriptions of the entry points.

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and that's the whole page bestie, no notes. this came to you from ncurses 6.6 dated 2024-12-28 — form_field_buffer(3X), slay, goodbye, drink water 💖✨🎀