Re: Missing terminfo data in XFree86 4.2.0

[Harold L Hunt <huntharo at msu dot edu>]

Michael,

You already know way more about the problem than I do.  I have never seen the 
problem described so completely.

Reasoning from what you have said leads me to believe that the packaging 
script that we use (same as all of the other XFree86 platforms) may be 
misbehaving and accidentally leaving out said file.

I guess what needs to happen is for Alan or I to take a look at the packaging 
process and see if there is an error that indicates that this is indeed 
happening.

Or, you could take a look for yourself (since you know more about the 
problem), by following the build and packing instructions in the 
Cygwin/XFree86 Contributor's Guide:

http://xfree86.cygwin.com/docs/cg/

Harold


Michael <bax3@bigfoot.com> said:

> Hi
> 
> I ran into the following problem with the current XFree86 distribution, but
> could not find any mention of any solution here or elsewhere.
> 
> SYMPTOMS
> --------
> * "vt102" terminal setting (TERM) in xterm windows instead of "xterm"
> * "WARNING: terminal is not fully functional" error messages from /bin/less
> * Missing /usr/share/terminfo/x/xterm and other terminfo data files
> 
> CAUSE
> -----
> 1. The current XFree86 for Cygwin distribution is missing the file
>    xterm.terminfo (but not xterm.termcap) in Xlib.tgz.  (However this is
>    not true for other distributions, eg FreeBSD.)  It is missing in the
>    distribution available from the Cygwin mirrors and the distribution
>    available directly from XFree86.
> 2. After unpacking the distribution files, the script Xinstall.sh asks the
>    user whether to update the terminfo entries.  The default is no, but the
>    blurb notes that new features will be unavailable otherwise.
> 
> If the user says yes:
> 3. The script moves a number of existing terminfo entries to *.bak
> 4. The script tries to run tic on /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/etc/xterm.terminfo to
>    replace them
> 5. Since this file is not present, tic fails
> 6. The following terminfo files are subsequently effectively missing: xterm,
>    xterms, xterm-24, xterm-vi, xterm-65, xterm-bold, xtermm, xterm-boldso,
>    xterm-ic, xterm-r6, xterm-old, xterm-r5, vs100
> 
> INTERIM SOLUTIONS
> -----------------
> During install (pre-emptive):
> 	* Do not elect to update terminfo entries
> After install (treatment):
> 	* Setting the TERM variable to another value such as cygwin or ansi is
> 	  a temporary workaround
> 	* Moving the renamed files back to their original names reverses the
> 	  damage ("mv xterm.bak xterm" etc)
> 
> DISTRIBUTION FIX?
> -----------------
> Include the file or change the installation script
> 
> QUESTIONS
> ---------
> * Is there some reason xterm.terminfo is missing, or is this an error?
> * Is it possible to use e.g. the FreeBSD distribution's xterm.terminfo file?
> * Is it advised against updating the terminfo data?
> * If so, then what about updating termcap entries (suggested by Xinstall.h)?
> * What is lost by not using the new terminfo data?
> 
> Thanks
> Michael
> 
>