X3270-SCRIPT(1)X3270-SCRIPT(1)NAME
Scripting Facilities for x3270, c3270 and s3270
SYNOPSIS
x3270 -script [ x3270-options ]
x3270 -socket [ x3270-options ]
x3270 -scriptport port [ x3270-options ]
c3270 -socket [ c3270-options ]
c3270 -scriptport port [ s3270-options ]
s3270 [ s3270-options ]
Script ( command [ ,arg... ] )
DESCRIPTION
The x3270 scripting facilities allow the interactive 3270 emulators
x3270 and c3270 to be operated under the control of another program,
and forms the basis for the script-only emulator s3270.
There are four basic scripting methods. The first is the peer script
facility, invoked by the x3270 -script switch, and the default mode for
s3270. This runs the emulator as a child of another process. Typi‐
cally this would be a script using expect(1), perl(1), or the co-
process facility of the Korn Shell ksh(1). In this mode, the emulator
process looks for commands on its standard input, and places the
responses on standard output.
The second method is the child script facility, invoked by the emula‐
tor's Script action. This runs a script as a child process of the emu‐
lator. The child has access to pipes connected to the emulator; the
emulator looks for commands on one pipe, and places the responses on
the other. The file descriptor of the pipe for commands to the emula‐
tor is passed in the environment variable X3270INPUT (e.g., the text
string "7" if the file descriptor is 7); the file descriptor of the
pipe for responses from the emulator is passed in the environment vari‐
able X3270OUTPUT.
The third method uses a TCP socket. The -scrpiptport command-line
option causes the emulator to bind a socket to the specified port (on
the IPv4 loopback address, 127.0.0.1). The emulator accepts TCP con‐
nections on that port. Multiple commands and responses can be sent
over each connection.
The fourth method uses a Unix-domain socket. The -socket command-line
option causes the emulator to create a Unix-domain stream socket named
/tmp/x3sck.pid. The emulator accepts connections to that socket. Mul‐
tiple commands and responses can be sent over each connection.
It is possible to nest the methods. For example, a peer or TCP socket
script can invoke the Script action. The calling script will be
resumed when the nested script completes.
Commands are emulator actions; the syntax is the same as for the right-
hand side of an x3270 or c3270 keymap. Unlike translation tables,
action names are case-insensitive, can be uniquely abbreviated, and the
parentheses may be omitted if there are no parameters. Any input line
that begins with # or ! is treaded as a comment and will be ignored.
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 different when an action
is initiated by a script.
Some actions generate output; some may delay completion until the cer‐
tain external events occur, such as the host unlocking 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"; other‐
wise it is the string "error".
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 unformatted 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 connected in NVT
line mode, the letter L. If connected in NVT character 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 possible 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 hexadeci‐
mal preceded by 0x. For s3270 and c3270, this is zero.
12 Command Execution Time
The time that it took for the host to respond to the previous
commnd, in seconds with milliseconds after the decimal. 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 behave in sev‐
eral different ways:
If an error occurs in processing an action, the usual pop-up window
does not appear. Instead, the text is written to standard 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 parameter 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 toggle is set
(the default), actions block as described above. When the toggle is
clear, AID actions complete immediately. The Wait(Output) action can
then be used to delay a script until the 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.
BASIC PROGRAMMING STRATEGIES
3270 session scripting can be more difficult than other kinds of
scripting, because it can be hard to tell when the host is finished
processing a command. There is a well-defined 3270 Data Stream facil‐
ity for doing this: The emulator locks the keyboard when it sends the
host an AID, and the later host unlocks the keyboard. The emulator
supports this facility directly by not allowing an AID action to com‐
plete until the keyboard is unlocked. Unfortunately, some hosts and
some host applications unlock the keyboard as soon as they begin pro‐
cessing the command, instead of after it is finished. A human operator
can see on the screen when the command is finished (e.g., when a READY
prompt is displayed), but it can be difficult for a script to do this.
For such early-unlock hosts, the only option in a script is to poll the
screen until it can determine that the command is complete.
Another complication is that host I/O and script operation are asyn‐
chronous. That is, the host can update the screen at any time, even
between actions that are reading the screen contents, so a script can
get inconsistent results. Assistance for this problem is provided by
the Snap action. The Snap(Save) action saves a snapshot of the screen
in a special buffer. Then the script can use Snap variants of the Ascii
and Ebcdic actions (Snap(Ascii) and Snap(Ebcdic)) to query the saved
buffer -- which the host cannot modify -- to get the data it wants.
Finally, Snap(Wait Output) blocks the script until the host modifies
the screen, specifically since the last call to Snap(Save). Thus a
script can poll the screen efficiently by writing a loop that begins
with Snap(Save) and ends with Snap(Wait Output).
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 control charac‐
ters expanded into C backslash sequences.
This is a convenient way to capture NVT mode output in a syn‐
chronous manner without trying to decode the screen contents.
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.
The EBCDIC-to-ASCII translation and output character set depend
on the both the emulator character set (the -charset option) and
the locale. UTF-8 and certain DBCS locales may result in multi-
byte expansions of EBCDIC characters that translate to ASCII
codes greater than 0x7f.
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 emu‐
lator is successfully connected in the proper mode, or the con‐
nection 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 optional status
is used as the return status of Script; if nonzero, Script will
complete with an error, and if this script was invoked as part
of login through the ibm_hosts file, the connection will be bro‐
ken.
ContinueScript(param)
Allows a script that is waiting in a PauseScript action, below,
to continue. The param given is output by the PauseScript
action.
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 gener‐
ating 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)
In x3270, pops up an informational message. In c3270 and
wc3270, writes an informational message to the OIA (the line
below the display). Not defined for s3270 or tcl3270.
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 exe‐
cuted. This allows a script to wait for user input and con‐
tinue. 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.
Query(keyword)
Returns state information. Keywords are:
Keyword Output
─────────────────────────────────────────────
BindPluName BIND PLU returned by the
host
ConnectionState TN3270/TN3270E mode and
submode
CodePage Host code page
Cursor Cursor position (row col)
Formatted 3270 format state
(formatted or unformatted)
Host Host name and port
LocalEncoding Local character encoding
LuName Host name LU name
Model 3270 model name (IBM-327x-
n)
ScreenCurSize Current screen size (rows
cols)
ScreenMaxSize Maximum screen size (rows
cols)
Ssl SSL state (secure or not-
secure) and host
validation state (host-
verified or host-
unverified)
Without a keyword, Query returns each of the defined attributes,
one per line, labeled by its name.
ReadBuffer(Ascii)
Dumps the contents of the screen buffer, one line at a time.
Positions inside data fields are generally output as 2-digit
hexadecimal codes in the current display character set. If the
current locale specifies UTF-8 (or certain DBCS character sets),
some positions may be output as multi-byte strings (4-, 6- or
8-digit codes). DBCS characters take two positions in the
screen buffer; the first location is output as a multi-byte
string in the current locale codeset, and the second location is
output as a dash. 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.
Attribute Values
─────────────────────────────────────
c0 basic 3270 20 protected
10 numeric
04 detectable
08 intensified
0c non-display
01 modified
41 highlighting f1 blink
f2 reverse
f4 underscore
f8 intensify
42 foreground f0 neutral black
f1 blue
f2 red
f3 pink
f4 green
f5 turquoise
f6 yellow
f7 neutral white
f8 black
f9 deep blue
fa orange
fb purple
fc pale green
fd pale turquoise
fe grey
ff white
43 character set f0 default
f1 APL
f8 DBCS
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 ReadBuffer(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).
Script(path[,arg...])
Runs a child script, passing it optional command-line arguments.
path must specify an executable (binary) program: the emulator
will create a new process and execute it. If you simply want the
emulator to read commands from a file, use the Source action.
Snap Equivalent to Snap(Save) (see below).
Snap(Ascii,...)
Performs the Ascii action on the saved screen image.
Snap(Cols)
Returns the number of columns in the saved screen image.
Snap(Ebcdic,...)
Performs the Ebcdic action on the saved screen image.
Snap(ReadBuffer)
Performs the ReadBuffer action on the saved screen image.
Snap(Rows)
Returns the number of rows in the saved screen image.
Snap(Save)
Saves a copy of the screen image and status in a temporary
buffer. This copy can be queried with other Snap actions 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 output, 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.
Source(file)
Read and execute commands from file. Any output from those
commands will become the output from Source. If any of the
commands fails, the Source command will not abort; it will
continue reading commands until EOF.
Title(text)
Changes the x3270 window title to text.
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 equivalent to
Wait(3270Mode)
Wait([timeout,] Disconnect)
Pauses the script until the host disconnects. Often 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(InputField).
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 equivalent to
Wait(NVTMode).
Wait([timeout,] Output)
Pauses the script until the host sends further output. 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
fully 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 keyboard. 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.
Wait(timeout, Seconds)
Delays the script timeout seconds. Unlike the other forms of
Wait, the timeout is not optional.
WindowState(mode)
If mode is Iconic, changes the x3270 window into an icon. If
mode is Normal, changes the x3270 window from an icon to a
normal window.
FILE TRANSFER
The Transfer action implements IND$FILE file transfer. This action
requires that the IND$FILE program be installed on the IBM host, and
that the 3270 cursor be located in a field that will accept a TSO or
VM/CMS command.
The Transfer action can be entered at the command prompt with no
parameters, which will cause it to prompt interactively for the file
names and options. It can also be invoked with parameters to define
the entire transfer.
Because of the complexity and number of options for file transfer, the
parameters to the Transfer action take the unique form of option=value,
and can appear in any order. Note that if the value contains spaces
(such as a VM/CMS file name), then the entire parameter must be quoted,
e.g., "HostFile=xxx foo a". The options are:
Option Required? Default Other Values
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Direction No receive send
HostFile Yes
LocalFile Yes
Host No tso vm, cics
Mode No ascii binary
Cr No remove add, keep
Remap No yes no
Exist No keep replace, append
Recfm No fixed, variable,
undefined
Lrecl No
Blksize No
Allocation No tracks,
cylinders,
avblock
PrimarySpace No
SecondarySpace No
BufferSize No 4096
The option details are as follows.
Direction
send to send a file to the host, receive to receive a file from
the host.
HostFile
The name of the file on the host.
LocalFile
The name of the file on the local workstation.
Host The type of host (which dictates the form of the IND$FILE
command): tso (the default), vm or cics.
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
characters in local files before transferring them to the host.
add adds Newline characters to each host file record before
transferring it to the local workstation. keep preserves
Newline characters when transferring a local file to the host.
Remap Controls text translation for Mode=ascii files. The value yes
(the default) causes c3270 to remap the text to ensure maximum
compatibility between the workstation's character set and
encoding and the host's EBCDIC code page. The value no causes
c3270 to pass the text to or from the host as-is, leaving all
translation to the IND$FILE program on the host.
Exist Controls what happens when the destination file already exists.
keep (the default) preserves the file, causing the Transfer
action to fail. replace overwrites the destination file with
the source file. append appends the source file to the
destination file.
Recfm Controls the record format of files created on the host. (TSO
and VM hosts only.) 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 and Recfm=variable files,
respectively.
Lrecl Specifies the record length (or maximum record length) for files
created on the host. (TSO and VM hosts only.)
Blksize
Specifies the block size for files created on the host. (TSO
and VM hosts only.)
Allocation
Specifies the units for the PrimarySpace and SecondarySpace
options: tracks, cylinders or avblock. (TSO hosts only.)
PrimarySpace
Primary allocation for a file, The units are given by the
Allocation option. (TSO hosts only.)
SecondarySpace
Secondary allocation for a file. The units are given by the
Allocation option. (TSO hosts only.)
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 ALSOexpect(1)perl(1)ksh(1)x3270(1)x3270if(1)c3270(1)s3270(1)VERSION
Version 3.3.14ga11
03 May 2014 X3270-SCRIPT(1)
