3.8 Why can't I compile programs that require libtermcap?

Debian uses the terminfo database and the ncurses library of terminal interface routes, rather than the termcap database and the termcap library. Users who are compiling programs that require some knowledge of the terminal interface should replace references to libtermcap with references to libncurses.

To support binaries that have already been linked with the termcap library, and for which you do not have the source, Debian provides a package called termcap-compat. This provides both libtermcap.so.2 and /etc/termcap. Install this package if the program fails to run with the error message "can't load library 'libtermcap.so.2'", or complains about a missing /etc/termcap file.