Using ";" is popular, and some parsers even require it, but it makes little sense. A terminal that doesn't know about 38 (anything old) will interpret that 5 as blink if you use ";", which is not what anyone wants.
The colons are more correct, but the semicolons are seemingly more broadly supported.
* <https://invisible-island.net/xterm/ctlseqs/ctlseqs.html#h4-F...>
* <https://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.faq.html#color_by_n...>
More details in my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35157058
That doesn't stop terminals from supporting it of course, just from saying they do.
Where would I find this documented and how broadly is it supported? So far, the most exhaustive documentation I've found is wikipedia [0], vt100 [2], and wezterm with only wezterm talking about this. I also have not seen `:` handled in the various parsers (e.g. `vte` for alacritty) or generators (e.g. `termcolor`) I've looked at.
* via <https://invisible-island.net/xterm/ctlseqs/ctlseqs.html#h4-F...> (search for "CSI Pm m Character Attributes (SGR)"):
If 88- or 256-color support is compiled, the following apply:
[snip]
o The 88- and 256-color support uses subparameters described
in ISO-8613-6 for indexed color. ISO-8613-6 also mentions
direct color, using a similar scheme. xterm supports
that, too.
o xterm allows either colons (standard) or semicolons
(legacy) to separate the subparameters (but after the
first colon, colons must be used).
The indexed- and direct-color features are summarized in the
FAQ, which explains why semicolon is accepted as a
subparameter delimiter:
Can I set a color by its number?
The `ctlseqs` document continues:
These ISO-8613-6 controls (marked in ECMA-48 5th edition as
"reserved for future standardization") are supported by xterm:
[snip example with colons ":"]
This variation on ISO-8613-6 is supported for compatibility
with KDE konsole:
[snip example with semicolons ";"]
This is covered in more detail by <https://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.faq.html#color_by_n...> (mentioned above):
We used semicolon (like other SGR parameters) for separating the R/G/B
values in the escape sequence, since a copy of ITU T.416 (ISO-8613-6)
which presumably clarified the use of colon for this feature was costly.
Using semicolon was incorrect because some applications could expect their
parameters to be order-independent. As used for the R/G/B values, that was
order-dependent. The relevant information, by the way, is part of ECMA-48
(not ITU T.416, as mentioned in Why only 16 (or 256) colors?). Quoting from
section 5.4.2 of ECMA-48, page 12, and adding emphasis (not in the
standard):
[snip]
Of course you will immediately recognize that 03/10 is ASCII colon,
and that ISO 8613-6 necessarily refers to the encoding in a parameter
sub-string. Or perhaps you will not.
[snip]
Later, in 2012 (patch #282), I extended the parser to accommodate the
corrected syntax. The original remains, simply because of its widespread
use. As before, it took a few years for other terminal developers to
notice and start incorporating the improvement. As of March 2016, not
all had finished noticing.
[snip]
* Going forward (e.g., xterm patch #357), these terminfo building blocks
are used in ncurses:
* xterm+256color2 is the building-block for standard terminals
* xterm+256color is a building-block for nonstandard terminals
Once again, seems it's amazing that anything works anywhere. :D
[Edit #1: Corrected from subparameter separator from "," (which is correct for one of the specs I read but incorrect here) to ":".]
[Edit #2: Typo fix.]
(1) With regard to the "03/10 is ASCII colon" comment: the "03/10" form is apparently known as "column-row notation" (or "column-line notation", see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_2022#Notation_and_nome...) and refers to the position of the character in an ASCII table such as: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USASCII_code_chart.png
I actually found a reference (https://dicom.nema.org/medical/dicom/2019d/output/html/part0...) that explains the notation: "the [US ASCII] value can be calculated as (column * 16) + row, e.g., 01/11 corresponds to the value 27 (1BH) [i.e. 0x1B]."
It then notes "The column/row notation is used only within Section 6.1 to simplify any cross referencing with applicable ISO standards." :D
A (IMO less effective) description can also be found in ECMA-35 (6th edition; section 5.2 "Code Tables").
(2) A nuance with regard to my "the confusion between use of ';' and ':' separators is because the RGB values are not actually parameters" remark:
The ECMA-48 (5th Edition; section 5.4.2) specification (& ISO/IEC 8613-6 / ITU-T Rec. T.416) talks about "parameter string" & "parameter sub-string" rather than "sub-parameter".
(Also, the "reserved" values mentioned apparently weren't ever actually specified in a standard; and--as noted elsewhere--the format of the ANSI parameter(s) don't exactly match the ODA (ISO/IEC 8613-6 / ITU-T Rec. T.416) format anyway--see ITU-T Rec. T.416 (1993 E) page 41.)
(3) The Wikipedia talk page on ANSI escape codes makes...interesting...reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:ANSI_escape_code#Clarific...
[0] i.e. let me inflict this "knowledge" on you. :D
[n] The best explanation for how we ended up in this mess is, I think, found in "Figure 6 - Structure of 8-bit codes" of ECMA-35 (6th Edition). :D