ncurses

% sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev ncurses-examples ncurses-doc

http://tldp.org/HOWTO/NCURSES-Programming-HOWTO/

#include <ncurses.h>

int main()
{
    initscr();                 /* Initialize term in curses mode & create 'stdscr'. */
    cbreak();                  /* Turn off line buffering. See below. */
    keypad(stdscr, TRUE);      /* Read arrow keys, etc. See below. */
    noecho();                  /* Don't echo() while we getch. See below. */
    printw("Hello World !!!"); /* Print to stdscr. */
    refresh();                 /* Copy from stdscr to the real screen */
    getch();                   /* Wait for user input. */
    endwin();                  /* End curses mode. */

    return 0;
}

Turn off the normal buffering of terminal input that happens before the user hits ENTER with either raw or cbreak. raw lets us handle interrupts like Ctrl-Z and Ctrl-C, while cbreak passes them through to act as they normally do.

Turn off the normal echoing of typed characters to the terminal with noecho.

keypad reads arrow keys and function keys like F1, etc.

Windows

initscr creates the default window ‘stdscr’, but we can create additional windows. When manipulating windows besides stdscr, use different function, typically ones that end in ‘w’.

printw("Hi There !!!");
refresh();

wprintw(win, "Hi There !!!");
wrefresh(win);

printw(string);  /* Print on stdscr at present cursor position */
mvprintw(y, x, string); /* Move to (y, x) then print string */
wprintw(win, string); /* Print on window win at present cursor position */
mvwprintw(win, y, x, string); /* Move and print to (y, x) relative to window */