How do I fix the delay on arrow keys with ncurses?

Question

I am trying to move a cursor using arrow keys but there is a delay of one key with these. I read that it sends the escape sequence first so this could be why, is there any way to fix it?

int main() {

        int ch,x=0,y=0;
        initscr();
        noecho();
        cbreak();

        keypad(stdscr, TRUE);

        refresh();

        while(true)  { /*main loop*/
                ch=getch();
                switch (ch) {
                        case KEY_UP:
                                y--;
                                move(y,x);
                                break;
                        case KEY_DOWN:
                                move(y,x);
                                y++;
                                break;
                        case KEY_RIGHT:
                                move(y,x);
                                x++;
                                break;
                        case KEY_LEFT:
                                move(y,x);
                                x--;
                                break;
                        case 27:
                                goto clean;
                        default:
                                addch(ch);
                                break;
                }
        }

clean:
        endwin();
        return 0;
}

Thanks!

Answer 1

As noted in a comment, the problem with the example program is that in some cases it adjusts the coordinate after moving the cursor, inconsistent with the case for KEY_UP, which adjusts the coordinate before moving the cursor.

To be consistent, put the move(y,x) calls after the y++, x++ and x-- statements.