Next Previous Contents 15. So it sends the appropriate escape sequence to the terminal to make this particular move for a certain terminal.
Some programs get info directly from a terminfo files without using ncurses.
Thus a Linux package that doesn't require ncurses may still need a terminfo file for your terminal. The terminfo abbreviations are usually longer than those of termcap and thus it's easier to guess what they mean. Also, the termcap entries had a size limitation which is not present for terminfo. Thus, unless you are already committed to working with termcap, it's suggested you use terminfo. The terminfo database is compiled and thus has a source part and a compiled part.