1X3270IF(1)                  General Commands Manual                 X3270IF(1)
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NAME

6       x3270if - command interface to x3270, c3270 and s3270
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SYNOPSIS

9       x3270if [option]... [ action ]
10       x3270if -i
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DESCRIPTION

13       x3270if  provides  an  interface between scripts and the 3270 emulators
14       x3270, c3270, and s3270.
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16       x3270if operates in one of two modes.  In action mode, it passes a sin‐
17       gle action and parameters to the emulator for execution.  The result of
18       the action is written to standard output,  along  with  the  (optional)
19       status  of  the  emulator.   (The  action  is optional as well, so that
20       x3270if can just reports the emulator status.)  In iterative  mode,  it
21       forms a continuous conduit between a script and the emulator.
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23       The action takes the form:
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25              action-name(param[,param]...)
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27       The  parentheses  are manatory, and usually must be quoted when x3270if
28       is called from a shell script.
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30       If any param contains a space or comma, it must be surrounded by double
31       quotes.
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OPTIONS

34       -s field
35              Causes x3270if to write to stdout the value of one of the emula‐
36              tor status fields.  Field is an integer in the range  0  through
37              11.  The value 0 is a no-op and is used only to return exit sta‐
38              tus indicating the state of the emulator.  The indices 1-11  and
39              meanings  of  each  field  are documented on the x3270-script(1)
40              manual page.  If an action is  specified  as  well,  the  status
41              field  is written after the output of the action, separated by a
42              newline.  The -s option is mutually exclusive with the -S and -i
43              options.
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45       -S     Causes x3270if to write to stdout the value of all of the emula‐
46              tor status fields.  If an action is specified as well, the  sta‐
47              tus fields are written after the output of the action, separated
48              by a newline.  The -S option is mutually exclusive with  the  -s
49              and -i options.
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51       -i     Puts  x3270if  in  iterative mode.  Data from x3270if's standard
52              input is copied to the emulator's script input;  data  from  the
53              emulator's script output is copied to x3270if's standard output.
54              The -i option is mutually exclusive with the -s and -S  options.
55              x3270if  runs until it detects end-of-file on its standard input
56              or on the output from the emulator.  (This mode exists primarily
57              to give expect(1) a process to run, on systems which do not sup‐
58              port bidirectional pipes.)
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60       -p process-id
61              Causes x3270if to use a Unix-domain socket  to  connect  to  the
62              emulator, rather than pipe file descriptors given in environment
63              variables.  The emulator must have been started with the -socket
64              option.
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66       -t port
67              Causes  x3270if  to use a TCP socket to connect to the emulator,
68              rather than pipe file descriptors  given  in  environment  vari‐
69              ables.  The emulator must have been started with the -scriptport
70              option.
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72       -v     Turns on verbose debug messages, showing on stderr  the  literal
73              data that is passed between the emulator and x3270if.
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EXIT STATUS

76       In  action  mode,  if the requested action succeeds, x3270if exits with
77       status 0.  If the action fails, x3270if exits with status 1.  In itera‐
78       tive  mode, x3270if exits with status 0 when it encounters end-of-file.
79       If there is an operational error within x3270if itself, such as a  com‐
80       mand-line  syntax  error, missing environment variable, or an unexpect‐
81       edly closed pipe, x3270if exits with status 2.
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ENVIRONMENT

84       When a script is run as a child process of one of the emulators via the
85       Script  action, the emulator passes information about how to control it
86       in environment variables.
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88       On Unix, the emulator process creates a pair of pipes for communication
89       with  the child script process.  The values of the file descriptors for
90       these pipes are encoded as text in two environment variables:
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92       X3270OUTPUT
93              Output from the emulator, input to the child process.
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95       X3270INPUT
96              Input to the emulator, output from the child process.
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98       On Windows, or when a Unix emulator is  started  with  the  -scriptport
99       option,  the  emulator will pass the port number encoded as text in the
100       X3270PORT environment variable.  x3270if will use that value as  if  it
101       had  been  passed  to it via the -t option.  X3270PORT takes precedence
102       over X3270OUTPUT and X3270INPUT.
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SEE ALSO

105       x3270(1), c3270(1), s3270(1), x3270-script(1)
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108       Copyright 1999-2009, Paul Mattes.
109       All rights reserved.
110
111       Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without mod‐
112       ification,  are  permitted  provided  that the following conditions are
113       met:
114
115
116       *      Redistributions of source code must retain the  above  copyright
117              notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
118
119       *      Redistributions  in  binary  form must reproduce the above copy‐
120              right notice, this list of conditions  and  the  following  dis‐
121              claimer  in  the  documentation  and/or other materials provided
122              with the distribution.
123
124       *      Neither the names of Paul Mattes nor the names of his  contribu‐
125              tors  may  be  used  to endorse or promote products derived from
126              this software without specific prior written permission.
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129       THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY PAUL MATTES `AS IS'  AND  ANY  EXPRESS  OR
130       IMPLIED  WARRANTIES,  INCLUDING,  BUT  NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WAR‐
131       RANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR  A  PARTICULAR  PURPOSE  ARE
132       DISCLAIMED.  IN  NO  EVENT  SHALL PAUL MATTES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
133       INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,  SPECIAL,  EXEMPLARY,  OR  CONSEQUENTIAL  DAMAGES
134       (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SER‐
135       VICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
136       CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIA‐
137       BILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY  WAY
138       OUT  OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
139       SUCH DAMAGE.
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143                                02 October 2009                     X3270IF(1)
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