Can ncurses Be Used on Windows?

Using ncurses on Windows Platforms

ncurses is a popular library for terminal window programming on Unix-like operating systems. However, many developers wonder if it can be used on the Windows platform. This article explores this problem and its potential solutions.

Question: Does ncurses work on Windows?

ncurses is not natively ported to Windows. It is primarily used on Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, macOS, and Solaris.

Answer: PDCurses

Although there is no official Windows port of ncurses, a project called PDCurses is working to provide similar functionality for Windows. PDCurses is an open source library that implements a similar interface to ncurses, allowing the use of ncurses programs on Windows.

PDCurses Features

PDCurses provides a similar feature set to its ncurses counterpart, including:

• Window Management
• Character and cursor handling
• Keyboard input
• Menu and form handling

Using PDCurses

To use PDCurses, Developers need to include relevant header files and libraries in their Windows applications. See the PDCurses documentation for detailed instructions and sample code.

Other alternatives

Besides PDCurses, there are other alternatives for terminal window programming on Windows:

• Win32 Console: Windows’ own terminal window library, providing a set of basic functions.
• ConEmu: An advanced terminal emulator that provides ncurses-like functionality, including tabbed sessions and custom keymaps.
• Visual Studio Code: Now integrated with a comprehensive terminal offering many advanced features including window management and extensions.

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