Error* Cannot Open Termcap Database File
for emacs? Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2005 20:31:23 +0200 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/
22:20:28 +0000 (UTC) User-agent: nn/6.7.3 The Emacs port provided by MacPorts (Emacs 23.2.1) won't start on OS X Snow Leopard. The error message is: emacs: "Cannot open termcap database file" This error has already been reported to MacPorts, but there's no activity on fixing the problem, so I want to try fix it myself. The first thing to figure out is where is Emacs looking for this termcap file? I want to https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/help-gnu-emacs/2005-07/msg00529.html determine whether it is missing altogether, or is there but is inaccessible to Emacs for some reason. Can someone tell me what filenames and directories to search for this file? Second, supposing it is missing, where can I find a suitable termcap database file? Alternative, is there a way to https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/help-gnu-emacs/2010-12/msg02858.html circumvent this requirement? Thanks! ~kj P.S. The Emacs that comes with OS X starts up, but it is version 22, but I installed the MacPorts port of Emacs because I needed version 23. reply via email to [Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread] "Cannot open termcap database file", kj<= Re: "Cannot open termcap database file", despen, 2010/12/19 Re: "Cannot open termcap database file", Peter Dyballa, 2010/12/19 Re: "Cannot open termcap database file", kj, 2010/12/19 Re: "Cannot open termcap database file", Nevo, 2010/12/19 Message not available Re: "Cannot open termcap database file", kj, 2010/12/19 Re: "Cannot open termcap database file", Peter Dyballa, 2010/12/19 Prev by Date: RE: Savannah: no more Ctrl-Ins when using mouse copy Next by Date: emacs inject a prolog to print jobs? Previous by thread: Savannah: no more Ctrl-Ins when using mouse copy Next by thread: Re: "Cannot open termcap database file" Index(es): Date Thread
Thu, 11 May 2006 10:34:35 -0400 Message-id: <[🔎]7fb962b0605110734n1938b8adj7a99f6a0ef4ab829@mail.gmail.com> In-reply-to: <7fb962b0605100805k41139c20kaef66bb3c79839fd@mail.gmail.com> References: <7fb962b0605100805k41139c20kaef66bb3c79839fd@mail.gmail.com> Hi - I'm new to the list and new to debian.I've downloaded an emacs-21.4a tarball from and gnu.org https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2006/05/msg01236.html and tried to install on my laptop into /usr/local/bin. The ./configure yields a number of "failed program" warnings but seemed in general to terminate without incident BUT I see the error " termcap.h: No such file or directory". Sure nuff I confirm no termcap.h anywhere on my system. Still, I proceed with make not knowing what else to do followed error* cannot by make install.All seems to go again without incident until I attempt to invoke ./emacs which returns with "emacs: Cannot open termcap database file".I've read and searched and tinkered but I just can't see it. I'm a linux newbie and admit there's probably something obvious I just don't see.I've read the termcap is obsolete and terminfo used in conjunction with ncurses error* cannot open is the proper way to go but no matter what I do emacs continues to complain about the older termcap database file. I've also read that this is a fairly common problem with emacs. I went into Makefile.in and did #define LIBS_TERMCAP -lcurses and then did #define LIBS_TERMCAP -lncurses because it appears that I'm using new curses. I tried apt-get install termcap-compat but that didn't go well and the comment says that I shouldn't have to do that anyway if I employ the link workaround above. I did export TERMCAP=emacs. I even copied /usr/share/terminfo/d/dumb as /usr/share/terminfo/e/emacs - all in response to hints in various archives.I do know env|grep TERM tells me I have TERM=xterm and COLORTERM=gnome-terminal.I also don't understand why the build results in three identical sized emacs executables in different places under /emacs- 21.4 . What's up with that? Can someone P-L-E-A-S-E point me in a direction that will help me sort out my termcap problem and get emacs up and running? I even tried to install xemacs but got the exact same error. At least I'm learning something.