gh-136687: Add ./configure --with-curses to select the curses backend (GH-153992)

Add --with-curses=ncursesw|ncurses|curses|no, mirroring --with-readline.
The default (auto) keeps the current behaviour: prefer ncursesw, fall back
to ncurses.  --with-curses=curses links the system's native curses (e.g. on
NetBSD or Solaris), which has no pkg-config file and was previously
unreachable; it is built with wide-character support when the library
provides it.  --without-curses excludes the curses and _curses_panel modules
from the build.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: serhiy-storchaka

Doc/using/configure.rst

@@ -1087,6 +1087,32 @@ Libraries options
 
    .. versionadded:: 3.10
 
+.. option:: --with-curses=ncursesw|ncurses|curses
+
+   Designate a backend library for the :mod:`curses` and :mod:`curses.panel`
+   modules.
+
+   * ``ncursesw``: Use the wide-character ``libncursesw`` (and ``libpanelw``),
+     found via ``pkg-config``.
+   * ``ncurses``: Use ``libncurses`` (and ``libpanel``), found via
+     ``pkg-config``.
+   * ``curses``: Use the system's native ``libcurses`` (and ``libpanel``), such
+     as on NetBSD or Solaris.  It is built with wide-character support when the
+     library provides it.
+
+   Without this option (or with ``--with-curses=auto``, the default), Python
+   tries ``ncursesw`` and then ``ncurses``; the native ``curses`` is used only
+   when requested explicitly.
+
+   .. versionadded:: next
+
+.. option:: --without-curses
+
+   Don't build the :mod:`curses` and :mod:`curses.panel` modules, even when a
+   curses library is present (built by default when one is found).
+
+   .. versionadded:: next
+
 .. option:: --with-libm=STRING
 
    Override ``libm`` math library to *STRING* (default is system-dependent).

Doc/whatsnew/3.16.rst

@@ -768,6 +768,15 @@ Build changes
 
   (Contributed by Stefano Rivera in :gh:`131372`.)
 
+* Add the :option:`--with-curses` :program:`configure` option to select the
+  curses backend for the :mod:`curses` and :mod:`curses.panel` modules.
+  In addition to ``ncursesw`` and ``ncurses``, it can now build against the
+  system's native ``curses`` library (for example on NetBSD or Solaris), with
+  wide-character support when the library provides it.  :option:`--without-curses`
+  excludes the modules from the build.
+
+  (Contributed by Serhiy Storchaka in :gh:`136687`.)
+
 
 C API changes
 =============

Misc/NEWS.d/next/Build/2026-07-18-14-30-12.gh-issue-136687.teaPCG.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Add the :option:`--with-curses` option to :program:`configure` to select the
+curses backend (``ncursesw``, ``ncurses`` or the system's native ``curses``) or,
+as :option:`--without-curses`, to exclude the :mod:`curses` and
+:mod:`curses.panel` modules from the build.