Re: Cannot open termcap database file for emacs?

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 30.07.2005 um 19:48 schrieb Erik the Red:

> emacs is definitely installed because a man page comes up when I type
> "man emacs".

That's no proof: a man page can exist without the binary, and 
viceversa. Try 'which emacs'!

> However, if I try to run emacs, it gives me this error message in bash:
>
> emacs: Cannot open termcap database file

You have two choices: run emacs as an X client inside its own window 
(for which you need to launch X11 and set the environment variable 
DISPLAY) or you set in your terminal emulations the environment 
variable TERMCAP and give it as value the absolute to the file 
termcap.src inside the emacs distribution.

If Emacs has to run without its own windows inside a terminal emulation 
it needs to know some properties of this terminal to move the cursor, 
'split' the terminal to create buffers and the mode-line with 
mini-buffer, etc. This information is taken from the termcap file. 
Since modern UNIX systems rely on TERMINFO Emacs seems to be like an 
elderly woman that once, before the war, used to pay in shilling and 
pence and guineas (in UK), it still needs TERMCAP, which once was the 
file /etc/termcap. This file has become part of the Emacs distribution 
as the file termcap.src, usually in 
/usr/local/share/emacs/<version>/etc/termcap.src.

This file might be to old, not knowing your modern terminal emulation. 
You can use the terminfo utilities (tic, infotocap, toe, captoinfo, 
infocmp, ...) to convert the most needed terminfo entries to termcap 
format and store it in some private dot file, $HOME/.termcap for 
example. Start with 'man 5 terminfo', 'man 5 term' to learn some basics 
-- if Ubuntu doesn't provide them, debian will have it. 'apropos 
termcap' and 'apropos terminfo' might give you some more appropriate 
pointers.

--
Mit friedvollen Grüßen

  Pete

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