Re: [tlug] Solarized Colour Scheme

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <turnbull.stephen.fw@example.com>]

Curt Sampson writes:

 > [F]or some reason, when I start an xterm, it comes up with
 > `TERM=xterm` in the environment, rather than `TERM=xterm-256color`.
 > 
 > Any thoughts on what could be causing this or how to fix it? I have
 > confirmed that the environment that launches xterm has no `TERM`
 > variable in its environment.

This has been true for as long as I can remember.  Just for funsies, I
read the man page, and guess what?  xterm sets that variable:

    Terminal database (terminfo (5) or termcap (5)) entries that work
    with xterm include

           an optional platform-specific entry ("xterm"),
           "xterm",
           "vt102",
           "vt100",
           "ansi" and
           "dumb"

    Xterm automatically searches the terminal database in this order
    for these entries and then sets the "TERM" variable (and the
    "TERMCAP" environment variable on a few older systems).  The
    alternatives after "xterm" are very old, from the late 1980s.

<img alt="Eddie-Murphy-finger-to-temple.jpg">  Well, that's how I
felt, anyway.

I am not sure how to set that "optional platform-specific entry".  I
guess you have to either patch xterm or override the terminal setting
in your shell rc script.  BTW, it doesn't help to set the variable in
the environment OF xterm, xterm will override it.

Note that modern xterm has an even more interesting option:
xterm-direct.  Yes, campers, that means you can use a DirectColor
visual!  Don't ask me how this works, apparently there are "direct
color ANSI control sequences".  Read the man page. ;-)

Steve