Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

newt VS ncurses

Compare newt VS ncurses and see what are their differences

newt logo newt

Programming library for color text mode, widget based user interfaces.

ncurses logo ncurses

ncurses (new curses) is a programming library that provides an API which allows the programmer to...
  • newt Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-21
  • ncurses Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-21

newt features and specs

  • User Interface Design
    Newt provides an intuitive and efficient method for creating text-based user interfaces using the whiptail library, which is especially beneficial for developers working on Unix-based systems.
  • Lightweight
    It is relatively lightweight, making it suitable for low-resource environments and applications where performance is critical.
  • Script Integration
    Newt can be easily integrated into shell scripts, allowing for rapid prototyping and automation of interactions with the end user.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project hosted on Pagure, it encourages contributions and modifications, which can lead to improved features and faster bug fixes.

Possible disadvantages of newt

  • Limited Customization
    Compared to modern GUI frameworks, Newt provides limited customization options for styling and interaction, which can be a drawback in creating polished interfaces.
  • Outdated Interfaces
    The text-based interfaces created by Newt may feel outdated to users who are accustomed to contemporary graphical interfaces.
  • Platform Dependency
    Newt is predominantly Unix-oriented, which can limit its portability and applicability across different operating systems.
  • Learning Curve
    Although simpler than some GUI frameworks, new users may still face a learning curve in understanding how to effectively create interfaces using Newt.

ncurses features and specs

  • Portability
    ncurses is highly portable and can run on a wide range of Unix-like systems, making it suitable for developing cross-platform terminal applications.
  • Terminal Control
    Provides comprehensive terminal control capabilities, allowing developers to manipulate text, colors, and screen dimensions easily.
  • Wide Adoption
    Being a widely-used library, ncurses has an extensive user base and a wealth of resources and community support available.
  • Enhanced User Interface
    Allows the creation of text user interfaces with features like windows, menus, and forms, improving the interactivity of terminal applications.
  • Extensive Function Set
    Offers a rich set of functions for handling input, output, and special effects in text-mode applications, facilitating complex interface designs.

Possible disadvantages of ncurses

  • Learning Curve
    Has a steep learning curve, especially for developers who are new to terminal-based UI programming.
  • C Programming Requirement
    Primarily a C library, which might not be appealing to developers more comfortable with modern or higher-level languages.
  • Limited to Text Mode
    Bound by the constraints of text mode, limiting the kinds of interactions and graphical representations possible compared to graphical user interfaces.
  • Complexity of Code
    Complex terminal applications can become unwieldy with a large amount of ncurses code, making maintenance challenging.
  • Terminal Compatibility
    While ncurses is designed to be portable, not all terminal emulators may fully support all its features, leading to potential inconsistencies.

newt videos

Review: Newt One (PlayStation 4, Switch & Xbox One) - Defunct Games

More videos:

  • Review - Newt One (Switch) Review
  • Review - Why Newt Is SO Important | Crimes of Grindelwald Trailer 2 Review

ncurses videos

Ncurses gameplay of PointandHit linux terminal game

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to newt and ncurses)
IDE
48 48%
52% 52
URL Shortener
47 47%
53% 53
Bookmark Manager
48 48%
52% 52
Link Management
45 45%
55% 55

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, newt seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 3 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

newt mentions (3)

  • Does anyone know what the tasksel UI is called?
    Those text interfaces are generated using the newt library โ€” most likely using the whiptail binary. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Newt library for TUI
    Are you referring to pagure.io/newt? Source: about 3 years ago
  • making menus
    The newt library is the basis for Debian's whiptail, which is a shell tool to generate text user interfaces. Source: over 3 years ago

ncurses mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of ncurses yet. Tracking of ncurses recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing newt and ncurses, you can also consider the following products

FINAL CUT - Library for creating terminal applications with text-based widgets

Slang - Slang is a powerful visual programming language using a newly developed stream-based paradigm.

termbox - Termbox is a library that helps making terminal-based pseudo-GUIs.

Turbo Vision - A Turbo Vision port to the GNU compiler and more

FTXUI - Get the latest version of ftxui-starter for Linux - My summary

Gui.cs - Console-based user interface toolkit for .NET applications.