Don't understand input

[Chris Seaton]

Hello,

I really don't understand input in ncurses at all.

I can read really simple key strokes such as the letter A, and more  
exotic key strokes such as the left arrow, but I don't understand how  
I read anything more complex than that.

For example, how would I read Control-A? When I try that getch simply  
returns 1. Some key-strokes such as Alt-A return two characters (all  
out of the ASCII range), but Alt-B returns three! I can't understand  
what the escape sequence is.

How can I read the escape key without a really noticeable delay?

Am I setting things up wrong? What do I need to do?

I know you can read key strokes such as these, as programs like Emacs  
and Vim do it.

Thanks

Chris Seaton