x3270-script(1)

NAME

Scripting Facilities for x3270, s3270 and c3270

SYNOPSIS

x3270 -script [ x3270-options ]
s3270 [ x3270-options ]
Script ( command [ ,arg... ] )

DESCRIPTION

The x3270 scripting facilities allow the interactive 3270

emulators x3270 and c3270 to be operated under the control of an

other program, and form the basis for the script-only emulator

s3270.

There are two basic scripting methods. The first is the

peer script facility, invoked by the x3270 -script switch, and

the default mode for s3270. This runs x3270 or s3270 as a child

of another process. Typically this would be a script using

expect(1), perl(1), or the co-process facility of the Korn Shell

ksh(1). Inthis mode, the emulator process looks for commands on

its standard input, and places the responses on standard output

and standard error output.

The second method is the child script facility, invoked by

the Script action in x3270, c3270, or s3270. This runs a script

as a child process of the emulator. The child has access to

pipes connected to the emulator; the emulator look for commands

on one pipe, and places the responses on the other. (The file

descriptor of the pipe for commands to the emulator is passed in

the environment variable X3270INPUT; the file descriptor of the

pipe for responses from the emulator is passed in the environment

variable X3270OUTPUT.)

It is possible to mix the two methods. A script can in

voke another script with the Script action, and may also be im

plicitly nested when a script invokes the Connect action, and the

ibm_hosts file specifies a login script for that host name.

Commands are emulator actions; the syntax is the same as

for the right-hand side of an Xt translation table entry (an

x3270 or c3270 keymap). Unlike translation tables, action names

are case-insensitive, can be uniquely abbreviated, and the paren

theses may be omitted if there are no parameters.

Any emulator action may be specified. Several specific

actions have been defined for use by scripts, and the behavior of

certain other actions (and of the emulators in general) is dif

ferent when an action is initiated by a script.

Some actions generate output; some may delay completion

until the certain external events occur, such as the host unlock

ing the keyboard. The completion of every command is marked by a

two-line message. The first line is the current status of the

emulator, documented below. If the command is successful, the

second line is the string "ok"; otherwise it is the string "er

ror".

STATUS FORMAT

The status message consists of 12 blank-separated fields:

1 Keyboard State

If the keyboard is unlocked, the letter U. If the

keyboard is locked waiting for a response from the host, or if

not connected to a host, the letter L. If the keyboard is locked

because of an operator error (field overflow, protected field,

etc.), the letter E.

2 Screen Formatting

If the screen is formatted, the letter F. If un

formatted or in NVT mode, the letter U.

3 Field Protection

If the field containing the cursor is protected,

the letter P. If unprotected or unformatted, the letter U.

4 Connection State

If connected to a host, the string C(hostname).

Otherwise, the letter N.

5 Emulator Mode

If connected in 3270 mode, the letter I. If con

nected in NVT line mode, the letter L. If connected in NVT char

acter mode, the letter C. If connected in unnegotiated mode (no

BIND active from the host), the letter P. If not connected, the

letter N.

6 Model Number (2-5)

7 Number of Rows

The current number of rows defined on the screen.

The host can request that the emulator use a 24x80 screen, so

this number may be smaller than the maximum number of rows possi

ble with the current model.

8 Number of Columns

The current number of columns defined on the

screen, subject to the same difference for rows, above.

9 Cursor Row

The current cursor row (zero-origin).

10 Cursor Column

The current cursor column (zero-origin).

11 Window ID

The X window identifier for the main x3270 window,

in hexadecimal preceded by 0x. For s3270 and c3270, this is ze

ro.

12 Command Execution Time

The time that it took for the host to respond to

the previous commnd, in seconds with milliseconds after the deci

mal. If the previous command did not require a host response,

this is a dash.

DIFFERENCES

When an action is initiated by a script, the emulators be

have in several different ways:

If an error occurs in processing an ection, the usual pop

up window does not appear. Instead, the text is written to stan

dard error output.

If end-of-file is detected on standard input, the emulator

exits. (A script can exit without killing the emulator by using

the CloseScript action, below.) Note that this applies to peer

scripts only; end-of-file on the pipe connected to a child script

simply causes the pipes to be closed and the Script action to

complete.

The Quit action always causes the emulator to exit. (When

called from the keyboard, it will exit only if not connected to a

host.)

Normally, the AID actions (Clear, Enter, PF, and PA) will

not complete until the host unlocks the keyboard. If the parame

ter to a String action includes a code for one these actions, it

will also wait for the keyboard to unlock before proceeding.

The AidWait toggle controls with behavior. When this tog

gle is set (the default), actions block as described above. When

the toggle is clear, AID actions complete immediately. The

Wait(Output)

host changes something on the screen, and the Wait(Unlock) action can be used to delay a script until the host unlocks the keyboard, regardless of the state of the AidWait toggle.
Note that the Script action does not complete until end

of-file is detected on the pipe or the CloseScript action is

called by the child process. This behavior is not affected by

the state of the AidWait toggle.

SCRIPT-SPECIFIC ACTIONS

The following actions have been defined or modified for

use with scripts. (Note that unlike the display on the status

line, row and col coordinates used in these actions use [0,0] as

their origin, not [1,1]).

AnsiText

Outputs whatever data that has been output by the

host in NVT mode since the last time that AnsiText was called.

The data is preceded by the string "data: ", and has had all con

trol characters expanded into C backslash sequences.

This is a convenient way to capture NVT mode output

in a synchronous manner without trying to decode the screen con

tents.

Ascii(row,col,rows,cols)

Ascii(row,col,length)

Ascii(length)

Ascii Outputs an ASCII text representation of the screen

contents. Each line is preceded by the string "data: ", and

there are no control characters.

If four parameters are given, a rectangular region

of the screen is output.

If three parameters are given, length characters

are output, starting at the specified row and column.

If only the length parameter is given, that many

characters are output, starting at the cursor position.

If no parameters are given, the entire screen is

output.

AsciiField

Outputs an ASCII text representation of the field

containing the cursor. The text is preceded by the string "data:

".

Connect(hostname)

Connects to a host. The command does not return

until the emulator is successfully connected in the proper mode,

or the connection fails.

CloseScript(status)

Causes the emulator to stop reading commands from

the script. This is useful to allow a peer script to exit, with

the emulator proceeding interactively. (Without this command,

the emulator would exit when it detected end-of-file on standard

input.) If the script was invoked by the Script action, the op

tional status is used as the return status of Script; if nonzero,

Script

voked as part of login through the ibm_hosts file, the connection will be broken.
ContinueScript(param)

Allows a script that is waiting in a PauseScript

action, below, to continue. The param given is output by the

PauseScript

Disconnect

Disconnects from the host.

Ebcdic(row,col,rows,cols)

Ebcdic(row,col,length)

Ebcdic(length)

Ebcdic The same function as Ascii above, except that

rather than generating ASCII text, each character is output as a

hexadecimal EBCDIC code, preceded by 0x.

EbcdicField

The same function as AsciiField above, except that

it generates hexadecimal EBCDIC codes.

Info(message)

Pops up an informational message.

Expect(text[,timeout])

Pauses the script until the specified text appears

in the data stream from the host, or the specified timeout (in

seconds) expires. If no timeout is specified, the default is 30

seconds. Text can contain standard C-language escape (backslash)

sequences. No wild-card characters or pattern anchor characters

are understood. Expect is valid only in NVT mode.

MoveCursor(row,col)

Moves the cursor to the specified coordinates.

PauseScript

Stops a script until the ContinueScript action,

above, is executed. This allows a script to wait for user input

and continue. Outputs the single parameter to ContinueScript.

PrintText([command,]filter))

Pipes an ASCII representation of the current screen

image through the named filter, e.g., lpr.

PrintText([html,],file,filename))

Saves the current screen contents in a file. With

the html option, saves it as HTML, otherwise saves it as plain

ASCII.

PrintText(html,string)

Returns the current screen contents as HTML.

ReadBuffer(Ascii)

Dumps the contents of the screen buffer, one line

at a time. Positions inside data fields are output as 2-digit

hexadecimal codes in the current display character set (typically

ISO 8859-1, but it varies with the host character set). Start

of-field characters (each of which takes up a display position)

are output as SF(aa=nn[,...]), where aa is a field attribute type

and nn is its value.

Extended attributes (which do not take up display

positions) are output as SA(aa=nn), with aa and nn having the

same definitions as above (though the basic 3270 attribute will

never appear as an extended attribute).

In addition, NULL characters in the screen buffer

are reported as ASCII character 00 instead of 20, even though

they should be displayed as blanks.

ReadBuffer(Ebcdic)

Equivalent to Snap(Ascii), but with the data fields

output as hexadecimal EBCDIC codes instead. Additionally, if a

buffer position has the Graphic Escape attribute, it is displayed

as GE(xx).

Snap Equivalent to Snap(Save) (see below).

Snap(Ascii,...)

Performs the Ascii action on the saved screen im

age.

Snap(Cols)

Returns the number of columns in the saved screen

image.

Snap(Ebcdic,...)

Performs the Ebcdic action on the saved screen im

age.

Snap(ReadBuffer)

Performs the ReadBuffer action on the saved screen

image.

Snap(Rows)

Returns the number of rows in the saved screen im

age.

Snap(Save)

Saves a copy of the screen image and status in a

temporary buffer. This copy can be queried with other Snap ac

tions to allow a script to examine a consistent screen image,

even when the host may be changing the image (or even the screen

dimensions) dynamically.

Snap(Status)

Returns the status line from when the screen was

last saved.

Snap(Wait[,timeout],Output)

Pauses the script until the host sends further out

put, then updates the snap buffer with the new screen contents.

Used when the host unlocks the keyboard (allowing the script to

proceed after an Enter, PF or PA action), but has not finished

updating the screen. This action is usually invoked in a loop

that uses the Snap(Ascii) or Snap(Ebcdic) action to scan the

screen for some pattern that indicates that the host has fully

processed the last command.

The optional timeout parameter specifies a number

of seconds to wait before failing the Snap action. The default

is to wait indefinitely.

Transfer(keyword=value,...)

Invokes IND$FILE file transfer. See FILE TRANSFER

below.

Wait([timeout,] 3270Mode)

Used when communicating with a host that switches

between NVT mode and 3270 mode. Pauses the script or macro until

the host negotiates 3270 mode, then waits for a formatted screen

as above.

The optional timeout parameter specifies a number

of seconds to wait before failing the Wait action. The default

is to wait indefinitely.

For backwards compatibility, Wait(3270) is equiva

lent to Wait(3270Mode)

Wait([timeout,] Disconnect)

Pauses the script until the host disconnects. Of

ten used to after sending a logoff command to a VM/CMS host, to

ensure that the session is not unintentionally set to

disconnected state.

The optional timeout parameter specifies a number

of seconds to wait before failing the Wait action. The default

is to wait indefinitely.

Wait([timeout,] InputField)

A useful utility for use at the beginning of

scripts and after the Connect action. In 3270 mode, waits until

the screen is formatted, and the host has positioned the cursor

on a modifiable field. In NVT mode, waits until the host sends

at least one byte of data.

The optional timeout parameter specifies a number

of seconds to wait before failing the Wait action. The default

is to wait indefinitely.

For backwards compatibility, Wait is equivalent to

Wait

Wait([timeout,] NVTMode)

Used when communicating with a host that switches

between 3270 mode and NVT mode. Pauses the script or macro until

the host negotiates NVT mode, then waits for a byte from the host

as above.

The optional timeout parameter specifies a number

of seconds to wait before failing the Wait action. The default

is to wait indefinitely.

For backwards compatibility, Wait(ansi) is equiva

lent to Wait(NVTMode).

Wait([timeout,] Output)

Pauses the script until the host sends further out

put. Often needed when the host unlocks the keyboard (allowing

the script to proceed after a Clear, Enter, PF or PA action), but

has not finished updating the screen. Also used in non-blocking

AID mode (see DIFFERENCES for details). This action is usually

invoked in a loop that uses the Ascii or Ebcdic action to scan

the screen for some pattern that indicates that the host has ful

ly processed the last command.

The optional timeout parameter specifies a number

of seconds to wait before failing the Wait action. The default

is to wait indefinitely.

Wait([timeout,] Unlock)

Pauses the script until the host unlocks the key

board. This is useful when operating in non-blocking AID mode

(toggle AidWait clear), to wait for a host command to complete.

See DIFFERENCES for details).

The optional timeout parameter specifies a number

of seconds to wait before failing the Wait action. The default

is to wait indefinitely.

FILE TRANSFER

The Transfer action implements IND$FILE file transfer.

This action requires that the IND$FILE program be installed on

the IBM host, and that the 3270 cursor be located in a field that

will accept a TSO or VM/CMS command.

Because of the complexity and number of options for file

transfer, the parameters to the Transfer action take the unique

form of option=value, and can appear in any order. The options

are:

Option Required? Default Other Values
-----------------------------------------------------------------Direction No send receive
HostFile Yes
LocalFile Yes
Host No tso vm

Mode No ascii binary
Cr No remove add, keep
Exist No keep replace, append
Recfm No fixed, variable,

undefined
Lrecl No
Blksize No
Allocation No tracks, cylinders,

avblock
PrimarySpace No
SecondarySpace No
BufferSize No 4096

The option details are as follows.

Direction

send (the default) to send a file to the host,

receive to receive a file from the host.

HostFile

The name of the file on the host.

LocalFile

The name of the file on the local workstation.

Host The type of host (which dictates the form of the

IND$FILE

Mode Use ascii (the default) for a text file, which will

be translated between EBCDIC and ASCII as necessary. Use binary

for non-text files.

Cr Controls how Newline characters are handled when

transferring Mode=ascii files. remove (the default) strips

Newline

host. add adds Newline characters to each host file record before transferring it to the local workstation. keep preserves

Newline

Exist Controls what happens when the destination file al

ready exists. keep (the default) preserves the file, causing the

Transfer

with the source file. append appends the source file to the destination file.
Recfm Controls the record of files created on the host.

fixed creates a file with fixed-length records. variable creates

a file with variable-length records. undefined creates a file

with undefined-length records (TSO hosts only). The Lrecl option

controls the record length or maximum record length for

Recfm=fixed

Lrecl Specifies the record length (or maximum record

length) for files created on the host.

Blksize

Specifies the block size for files created on the

host. (TSO hosts only.)

Allocation

Specifies the units for the TSO host PrimarySpace

and SecondarySpace options: tracks, cylinders or avblock.

PrimarySpace

Primary allocation for a file created on a TSO

host. The units are given by the Allocation option.

SecondarySpace

Secondary allocation for a file created on a TSO

host. The units are given by the Allocation option.

BufferSize

Buffer size for DFT-mode transfers. Can range from

256 to 32768. Larger values give better performance, but some

hosts may not be able to support them.

SEE ALSO

expect(1)
ksh(1)
x3270(1)
c3270(1)
s3270(1)

VERSION

Version 3.3.4

10 April 2005

X3270-SCRIPT(1)