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(libc.info)Canonical or Not

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Two Styles of Input: Canonical or Not
=====================================

   POSIX systems support two basic modes of input: canonical and
noncanonical.

   In "canonical input processing" mode, terminal input is processed in
lines terminated by newline (`'\n''), EOF, or EOL characters.  No input
can be read until an entire line has been typed by the user, and the
`read' function (Note: I/O Primitives) returns at most a single line
of input, no matter how many bytes are requested.

   In canonical input mode, the operating system provides input editing
facilities: some characters are interpreted specially to perform editing
operations within the current line of text, such as ERASE and KILL.
Note: Editing Characters.

   The constants `_POSIX_MAX_CANON' and `MAX_CANON' parameterize the
maximum number of bytes which may appear in a single line of canonical
input.  Note: Limits for Files.  You are guaranteed a maximum line
length of at least `MAX_CANON' bytes, but the maximum might be larger,
and might even dynamically change size.

   In "noncanonical input processing" mode, characters are not grouped
into lines, and ERASE and KILL processing is not performed.  The
granularity with which bytes are read in noncanonical input mode is
controlled by the MIN and TIME settings.  Note: Noncanonical Input.

   Most programs use canonical input mode, because this gives the user a
way to edit input line by line.  The usual reason to use noncanonical
mode is when the program accepts single-character commands or provides
its own editing facilities.

   The choice of canonical or noncanonical input is controlled by the
`ICANON' flag in the `c_lflag' member of `struct termios'.  Note: Local
Modes.