NAME
x3270if - command interface to x3270, c3270 and s3270
SYNOPSIS
x3270if [option]... [ action ]
x3270if -i
DESCRIPTION
x3270if provides an interface between
scripts and the 3270 emulators x3270, c3270, and
s3270.
x3270if operates in one of two modes. In action
mode, it passes a single action and parameters to the emulator
for execution. The result of the action is written to standard
output, along with the (optional) status of the emulator. (The
action is optional as well, so that x3270if can just reports
the emulator status.) In iterative mode, it forms a
continuous conduit between a script and the emulator.
The action takes the form:
- action-name(param[,param]...)
The parentheses are manatory, and usually must be quoted when
x3270if is called from a shell script.
If any param contains a space or comma, it must be
surrounded by double quotes.
OPTIONS
- -s field
- Causes x3270if to write to stdout the value of one of
the emulator status fields. Field is an integer in the range
0 through 11. The value 0 is a no-op and is used only to return
exit status indicating the state of the emulator. The indices 1-11
and meanings of each field are documented on the x3270-script(1)
manual page. If an action is specified as well, the status
field is written after the output of the action, separated by a
newline. The -s option is mutually exclusive with the
-S and -i options.
- -S
- Causes x3270if to write to stdout the value of all of
the emulator status fields. If an action is specified as
well, the status fields are written after the output of the action,
separated by a newline. The -S option is mutually exclusive
with the -s and -i options.
- -i
- Puts x3270if in iterative mode. Data from
x3270if's standard input is copied to the emulator's script
input; data from the emulator's script output is copied to
x3270if's standard output. The -i option is mutually
exclusive with the -s and -S options. x3270if
runs until it detects end-of-file on its standard input or on the
output from the emulator. (This mode exists primarily to give
expect(1)
a process to run, on systems which do not support bidirectional
pipes.)
- -v
- Turns on verbose debug messages, showing on stderr the literal
data that is passed between the emulator and
x3270if.
EXIT STATUS
In action mode, if the requested action
succeeds, x3270if exits with status 0. If the action fails,
x3270if exits with status 1. In iterative mode,
x3270if exits with status 0 when it encounters end-of-file.
If there is an operational error within x3270if itself, such
as a command-line syntax error, missing environment variable, or an
unexpectedly closed pipe, x3270if exits with status 2.
ENVIRONMENT
x3270, c3270, and s3270
use a pair of pipes for communication with each child process. The
values of the file descriptors for these pipes are encoded as text
in two environment variables, which are required by x3270if:
- X3270OUTPUT
- Output from the emulator, input to the child process.
- X3270INPUT
- Input to the emulator, output from the child
process.
SEE ALSO
x3270(1),
c3270(1),
s3270(1),
x3270-script(1)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 by Paul Mattes.
- Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software
and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby
granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all
copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission
notice appear in supporting documentation.