from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
termcap
<operating system> (terminal capabilities) A {Unix} database
listing different types of terminal (or {terminal emulation})
and the character {strings} to send to make the terminal
perform certain functions such as move the {cursor} up one
line or clear the screen.
Programs written using termcap can work on any terminal in the
database which supports the necessary functions. Typical
programs are {text editors} or file viewers like {more}. The
termcap routines look for an {environment variable} "TERM" to
determine which terminal the user is using.
{terminfo} is a later version of termcap.
(1998-10-30)