X3270IF(1)						      General Commands Manual							X3270IF(1)

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  emula-
	      tor'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.)

       -p process-id
	      Causes  x3270if to use a Unix-domain socket to connect to the emulator, rather than pipe file descriptors given in environment vari-
	      ables.  The emulator must have been started with the -socket option.

       -t port
	      Causes x3270if 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 -scriptport option.

       -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 iter-
       ative 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

       When a script is run as a child process of one of the emulators via the Script action, the emulator passes information about how to control
       it in environment variables.

       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:

       X3270OUTPUT
	      Output from the emulator, input to the child process.

       X3270INPUT
	      Input to the emulator, output from the child process.

       On  Windows,  or when a Unix emulator is started with the -scriptport option, the emulator will pass the port number encoded as text in the
       X3270PORT environment variable.	x3270if will use that value as if it had been passed to it via the -t option.  X3270PORT takes	precedence
       over X3270OUTPUT and X3270INPUT.

SEE ALSO

       x3270(1), c3270(1), s3270(1), x3270-script(1)

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright 1999-2009, Paul Mattes.
       All rights reserved.

       Redistribution  and  use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
       met:

       *      Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

       *      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.

       *      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.

       THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY PAUL MATTES `AS IS' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED  TO,	THE  IMPLIED  WAR-
       RANTIES	OF  MERCHANTABILITY  AND  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL PAUL MATTES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
       INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR  SER-
       VICES;  LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
       LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBIL-
       ITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

								  25 August 2012							X3270IF(1)