'\" t
.TH X3270IF 1 "26 September 2020"
.SH "NAME"
x3270if \- command interface to
x3270, c3270 and s3270
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
\fBx3270if\fP [option]... [ \fIaction\fP ]
.br
\fBx3270if\fP [option]... \-i
.br
\fBx3270if\fP [option]... \-I \fIemulator-name\fP [\-H \fIhelp-action\fP]
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
\fBx3270if\fP provides an interface between scripts and
the 3270 emulators
\fIx3270\fP, \fIc3270\fP and \fIs3270\fP.
.LP
\fBx3270if\fP operates in one of three modes.
In \fBaction mode\fP, 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 \fBx3270if\fP can just reports the
emulator status.)
In \fBiterative mode\fP, it forms a continuous conduit between a script and
the emulator.
In \fBinteractive prompt\fP mode, it displays a prompt, and conveys each
command it receives to the emulator.
.LP
The \fIaction\fP takes the form:
.IP
\fIaction-name\fP(\fIparam\fP[,\fIparam\fP]...)
.LP
The parentheses are manatory, and usually must be quoted when \fBx3270if\fP is
called from a shell script.
.LP
If any \fIparam\fP contains a space or comma, it must be surrounded by
double quotes.
.SH "OPTIONS"
.TP
\fB\-s\fP \fIfield\fP
Causes \fBx3270if\fP to write to stdout the value of one of the
emulator status fields.
\fIField\fP 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
\fIx3270-script\fP(1) manual page.
If an \fIaction\fP is specified as well, the status field is written after the
output of the action, separated by a newline.
The \fB\-s\fP option is mutually exclusive with the
\fB\-S\fP, \fB\-i\fP and \fB\-I\fP options.
.TP
\fB\-S\fP
Causes \fBx3270if\fP to write to stdout the value of all of the
emulator status fields.
If an \fIaction\fP is specified as well, the status fields are written after the
output of the action, separated by a newline.
The \fB\-S\fP option is mutually exclusive with the
\fB\-s\fP, \fB\-i\fP and \fB\-I\fP options.
.TP
\fB\-i\fP
Puts \fBx3270if\fP in iterative mode.
Data from \fBx3270if\fP's standard input is copied to the
emulator's script input; data from the
emulator's script output is copied to
\fBx3270if\fP's standard output.
The \fB\-i\fP option is mutually exclusive with the
\fB\-s\fP, \fB\-S\fP and \fB\-I\fP options.
\fBx3270if\fP
runs until it detects end-of-file on its standard input or on the
output from the emulator.
(This mode exists primarily to give \fIexpect\fP(1)
a process to run, on systems which do not support bidirectional pipes.)
.TP
\fB\-p\fP \fIprocess-id\fP
Causes \fIx3270if\fP to use a Unix-domain socket to connect to the emulator,
rather than pipe file descriptors given in environment variables.
The emulator must have been started with the \fB\-socket\fP option.
.TP
\fB\-I\fP \fIemulator-name\fP
Puts \fBx3270if\fP in interactive prompt mode.
\fIemulator-name\fP is used as the prompt.
.TP
\fB\-H\fP \fIhelp-action\fP
In conjunction with \fB\-I\fP, specifies the name of an action that
can be used to get interactive help. This action name is displayed in a
start-up banner.
.TP
\fB\-t\fP \fIport\fP
Causes \fIx3270if\fP to use a TCP socket to connect to the emulator,
rather than pipe file descriptors given in environment variables.
The emulator must have been started with the \fB\-scriptport\fP
option.
.TP
\fB\-v\fP
Turns on verbose debug messages, showing on stderr the literal data that is
passed between the emulator and \fBx3270if\fP.
.SH "EXIT STATUS"
In action mode, if the requested \fIaction\fP succeeds,
\fBx3270if\fP exits with status 0.
If the action fails, \fBx3270if\fP exits with status 1.
In iterative mode, \fBx3270if\fP
exits with status 0 when it encounters end-of-file.
In interactive prompt mode, \fBx3270if\fP exits with status 0 when it
encounters end-of-file, or if a command is given which ends with a '/'
character.
If there is an operational error within \fBx3270if\fP
itself, such as a command-line syntax error, missing environment
variable, or an unexpectedly closed pipe,
\fBx3270if\fP exits with a status greater than 2.
.SH "ENVIRONMENT"
When a script is run as a child process of one of the emulators via the
\fBScript\fP action, the emulator passes information about how to control it
in environment variables.
.LP
On Unix, the emulator process creates a pair of pipes for communication with
the child script process.
The values of the file descriptors for these pipes are encoded as text
in two environment variables:
.TP
\fBX3270OUTPUT\fP
Output from the emulator, input to the child process.
.TP
\fBX3270INPUT\fP
Input to the emulator, output from the child process.
.LP
When an emulator is started with the
\fB\-scriptport\fP option, the 
emulator will pass the scriptport port number
encoded as text in the \fBX3270PORT\fP environment variable.
\fIx3270if\fP will use that value as if it had been passed to it via the
\fB\-t\fP option.
\fBX3270PORT\fP takes precedence over
\fBX3270OUTPUT\fP and \fBX3270INPUT\fP.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
x3270(1), c3270(1),
s3270(1),
x3270-script(1)
.SH "COPYRIGHT"
Copyright 1999-2009, 2020 Paul Mattes.
.br
All rights reserved.
.LP
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

.TP
*
Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
.TP
*
Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
.TP
*
Neither the names of Paul Mattes nor the names of his contributors
may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
without specific prior written permission.

.LP
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY PAUL MATTES `AS IS' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO
EVENT SHALL PAUL MATTES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
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