s3270 - Online in the Cloud

PROGRAM:

NAME

s3270 - IBM host access tool

SYNOPSIS

s3270 [options] [host]

s3270 [options] session-file.s3270

DESCRIPTION

s3270 opens a telnet connection to an IBM host, then allows a script to control the host
login session. It is derived from x3270(1), an X-windows IBM 3270 emulator. It
implements RFCs 2355 (TN3270E), 1576 (TN3270) and 1646 (LU name selection), and supports
IND$FILE file transfer.

The full syntax for host is:
[prefix:]...[LUname@]hostname[:port]

Prepending a P: onto hostname causes the connection to go through the telnet-passthru
service rather than directly to the host. See PASSTHRU below.

Prepending an S: onto hostname removes the "extended data stream" option reported to the
host. See -tn below for further information.

Prepending an N: onto hostname turns off TN3270E support for the session.

Prepending an L: onto hostname causes s3270 to first create an SSL tunnel to the host, and
then create a TN3270 session inside the tunnel. (This function is supported only if s3270
was built with SSL/TLS support). Note that TLS-encrypted sessions using the TELNET START-
TLS option are negotiated with the host automatically; for these sessions the L: prefix
should not be used.

A specific Logical Unit (LU) name to use may be specified by prepending it to the hostname
with an `@'. Multiple LU names to try can be separated by commas. An empty LU can be
placed in the list with an extra comma. (Note that the LU name is used for different
purposes by different kinds of hosts. For example, CICS uses the LU name as the Terminal
ID.)

The hostname may optionally be placed inside square-bracket characters `[' and `]'. This
will prevent any colon `:' characters in the hostname from being interpreted as indicating
option prefixes or port numbers. This allows numeric IPv6 addresses to be used as
hostnames.

On systems that support the forkpty library call, the hostname may be replaced with -e and
a command string. This will cause s3270 to connect to a local child process, such as a
shell.

The port to connect to defaults to telnet. This can be overridden with the -port option,
or by appending a port to the hostname with a colon `:'. (For compatability with previous
versions of s3270 and with tn3270(1), the port may also be specified as a second, separate
argument.)

OPTIONS

s3270 understands the following options:

-accepthostname spec
Specifies a particular hostname to accept when validating the name presented in the
host's SSL certificate, instead of comparing to the name or address used to make
the connection. spec can either be any, which disables name validation,
DNS:hostname, which matches a particular DNS hostname, or IP:address, which matches
a particular numeric IPv4 or IPv6 address.

-cadir directory
Specifies a directory containing CA (root) certificates to use when verifying a
certificate provided by the host.

-cafile filename
Specifies a PEM-format file containing CA (root) certificates to use when verifying
a certificate provided by the host.

-certfile filename
Specifies a file containing a certificate to provide to the host, if requested.
The default file type is PEM.

-certfiletype type
Specifies the type of the certificate file specified by -certfile. Type can be pem
or asn1.

-chainfile filename
Specifies a certificate chain file in PEM format, containing a certificate to
provide to the host if requested, as well as one or more intermediate certificates
and the CA certificate used to sign that certificate. If -chainfile is specified,
it overrides -certfile.

-charset name
Specifies an EBCDIC host character set.

-clear toggle
Sets the initial value of toggle to false. The list of toggle names is under
TOGGLES below.

-devname name
Specifies a device name (workstation ID) for RFC 4777 support.

-im method
Specifies the name of the input method to use for multi-byte input. (Supported
only when s3270 is compiled with DBCS support.)

-keyfile filename
Specifies a file containing the private key for the certificate file (specified via
-certfile or -chainfile). The default file type is PEM.

-keyfiletype type
Specifies the type of the private key file specified by -keyfile. Type can be pem
or asn1.

-keypasswd type:value
Specifies the password for the private key file, if it is encrypted. The argument
can be file:filename, specifying that the password is in a file, or string:string,
specifying the password on the command-line directly. If the private key file is
encrypted and no -keypasswd option is given, secure connections will not be
allowed.

-km name
Specifies the local encoding method for multi-byte text. name is an encoding name
recognized by the ICU library. (Supported only when s3270 is compiled with DBCS
support, and necessary only when s3270 cannot figure it out from the locale.)

-loginmacro Action(arg...) ...
Specifies a macro to run at login time.

-model name
The model of 3270 display to be emulated. The model name is in two parts, either
of which may be omitted:

The first part is the base model, which is either 3278 or 3279. 3278 specifies a
monochrome (green on black) 3270 display; 3279 specifies a color 3270 display.

The second part is the model number, which specifies the number of rows and
columns. Model 4 is the default.

Model Number Columns Rows
──────────────────────────────
2 80 24
3 80 32
4 80 43
5 132 27

Note: Technically, there is no such 3270 display as a 3279-4 or 3279-5, but most
hosts seem to work with them anyway.

The default model is 3279-4.

-oversize colsxrows
Makes the screen larger than the default for the chosen model number. This option
has effect only in combination with extended data stream support (controlled by the
"s3270.extended" resource), and only if the host supports the Query Reply
structured field. The number of columns multiplied by the number of rows must not
exceed 16383 (3fff hex), the limit of 14-bit 3270 buffer addressing.

-port n
Specifies a different TCP port to connect to. n can be a name from /etc/services
like telnet, or a number. This option changes the default port number used for all
connections. (The positional parameter affects only the initial connection.)

-proxy type:host[:port]
Causes s3270 to connect via the specified proxy, instead of using a direct
connection. The host can be an IP address or hostname. The optional port can be a
number or a service name. For a list of supported proxy types, see PROXY below.

-scriptport port
Causes s3270 to listen for scripting connections on local TCP port port.

-selfsignedok
When verifying a host SSL certificate, allow it to be self-signed.

-set toggle
Sets the initial value of toggle to true. The list of toggle names is under
TOGGLES below.

-socket
Causes the emulator to create a Unix-domain socket when it starts, for use by
script processes to send commands to the emulator. The socket is named
/tmp/x3sck.process_id. The -p option of x3270if causes it to use this socket,
instead of pipes specified by environment variables.

-tn name
Specifies the terminal name to be transmitted over the telnet connection. The
default name is IBM-model_name-E, for example, IBM-3278-4-E.

Some hosts are confused by the -E suffix on the terminal name, and will ignore the
extra screen area on models 3, 4 and 5. Prepending an s: on the hostname, or
setting the "s3270.extended" resource to "false", removes the -E from the terminal
name when connecting to such hosts.

The name can also be specified with the "s3270.termName" resource.

-trace Turns on data stream and event tracing at startup. The default trace file name is
/tmp/x3trc.process_id.

-tracefile file
Specifies a file to save data stream and event traces into. If the name starts
with `>>', data will be appended to the file.

-tracefilesize size
Places a limit on the size of a trace file. If this option is not specified, or is
specified as 0 or none, the trace file size will be unlimited. The minimum size is
64 Kbytes. The value of size can have a K or M suffix, indicating kilobytes or
megabytes respectively. When the trace file reaches the size limit, it will be
renamed with a `-' appended and a new file started.

-user name
Specifies the user name for RFC 4777 support.

-utf8 Forces the local codeset to be UTF-8, ignoring the locale or Windows codepage.

-v Display the version and build options for s3270 and exit.

-verifycert
For SSL or SSL/TLS connections, verify the host certificate, and do not allow the
connection to complete unless it can be validated.

-xrm "s3270.resource: value"
Sets the value of the named resource to value. Resources control less common s3270
options, and are defined under RESOURCES below.

These names are also used as the first parameter to the Toggle action.

ACTIONS

Here is a complete list of basic s3270 actions. Script-specific actions are described on
the x3270-script(1) manual page.

Actions marked with an asterisk (*) may block, sending data to the host and possibly
waiting for a response.

*Attn attention key
BackSpace move cursor left (or send
ASCII BS)
BackTab tab to start of previous input
field
CircumNot input "^" in NVT mode, or
"notsign" in 3270 mode
*Clear clear screen
*Connect(host) connect to host
*CursorSelect Cursor Select AID
Delete delete character under cursor
(or send ASCII DEL)
DeleteField delete the entire field
DeleteWord delete the current or previous
word
*Disconnect disconnect from host
Down move cursor down
Dup duplicate field
*Enter Enter AID (or send ASCII CR)
Erase erase previous character (or
send ASCII BS)
EraseEOF erase to end of current field
EraseInput erase all input fields
Execute(cmd) execute a command in a shell
FieldEnd move cursor to end of field
FieldMark mark field
HexString(hex_digits) insert control-character
string
Home move cursor to first input
field
Insert set insert mode
*Interrupt send TELNET IP to host

Key(keysym) insert key keysym
Key(0xxx) insert key with character code
xx
Left move cursor left
Left2 move cursor left 2 positions
MonoCase toggle uppercase-only mode
MoveCursor(row, col) move cursor to (row,col)
Newline move cursor to first field on
next line (or send ASCII LF)
NextWord move cursor to next word
*PA(n) Program Attention AID (n from
1 to 3)
*PF(n) Program Function AID (n from 1
to 24)
PreviousWord move cursor to previous word
Quit exit s3270
Redraw redraw window
Reset reset locked keyboard
Right move cursor right
Right2 move cursor right 2 positions
*Script(command[,arg...]) run a script
*String(string) insert string (simple macro
facility)
*SysReq System Request AID
Tab move cursor to next input
field
Toggle(option[,set|clear]) toggle an option
ToggleInsert toggle insert mode
ToggleReverse toggle reverse-input mode
*Transfer(option=value...) file transfer
Up move cursor up

Note that certain parameters to s3270 actions (such as the names of files and keymaps) are
subject to substitutions:

The character ~ at the beginning of a string is replaced with the user's home directory.
A ~ character followed by a username is replaced with that user's home directory.

Environment variables are substituted using the Unix shell convention of $name or ${name}.

Two special pseudo-environment variables are supported. ${TIMESTAMP} is replaced with a
microsecond-resolution timestamp; ${UNIQUE} is replaced with a string guaranteed to make a
unique filename (the process ID optionally followed by a dash and a string of digits).
${UNIQUE} is used to form trace file names.

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. 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
s3270 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
s3270 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.

THE PRINTTEXT ACTION

The PrintText produces screen snapshots in a number of different forms. The default form
wth no arguments sends a copy of the screen to the default printer. A single argument is
the command to use to print, e.g., lpr. Multiple arguments can include keywords to
control the output of PrintText:

file filename
Save the output in a file.

html Save the output as HTML. This option implies file.

rtf Save the output as RichText. This option implies file. The font defaults to
Courier New and the point size defaults to 8. These can be overridden by the
printTextFont and printTextSize resources, respectively.

string Return the output as a string. This can only be used from scripts.

modi Render modified fields in italics.

caption text
Add the specified text as a caption above the output. Within text, the special
sequence %T% will be replaced with a timestamp.

command command
Directs the output to a command. This allows one or more of the other keywords to
be specified, while still sending the output to the printer.

NESTED SCRIPTS

There are several types of nested script functions available.

The String Action
The simplest method for nested scripts is provided via the String action. The
arguments to String are one or more double-quoted strings which are inserted
directly as if typed. The C backslash conventions are honored as follows.
(Entries marked * mean that after sending the AID code to the host, s3270 will wait
for the host to unlock the keyboard before further processing the string.)

\b Left
\exxxx EBCDIC character in hex
\f Clear*
\n Enter*
\pan PA(n)*
\pfnn PF(nn)*
\r Newline
\t Tab
\T BackTab
\uxxxx Unicode character in hex
\xxxxx Unicode character in hex

Note that the numeric values for the \e, \u and \x sequences can be abbreviated to
2 digits. Note also that EBCDIC codes greater than 255 and some Unicode character
codes represent DBCS characters, which will work only if s3270 is built with DBCS
support and the host allows DBCS input in the current field.

Note: The strings are in ASCII and converted to EBCDIC, so beware of inserting
control codes.

There is also an alternate form of the String action, HexString, which is used to
enter non-printing data. The argument to HexString is a string of hexadecimal
digits, two per character. A leading 0x or 0X is optional. In 3270 mode, the
hexadecimal data represent EBCDIC characters, which are entered into the current
field. In NVT mode, the hexadecimal data represent ASCII characters, which are
sent directly to the host.

The Script Action
This action causes s3270 to start a child process which can execute s3270 actions.
Standard input and output from the child process are piped back to s3270. The
Script action is fully documented in x3270-script(1).

PASSTHRU

s3270 supports the Sun telnet-passthru service provided by the in.telnet-gw server. This
allows outbound telnet connections through a firewall machine. When a p: is prepended to
a hostname, s3270 acts much like the itelnet(1) command. It contacts the machine named
internet-gateway at the port defined in /etc/services as telnet-passthru (which defaults
to 3514). It then passes the requested hostname and port to the in.telnet-gw server.

PROXY

The -proxy option or the s3270.proxy resource causes s3270 to use a proxy server to
connect to the host. The syntax of the option or resource is:
type:host[:port]

The supported values for type are:

Proxy Type Protocol Default Port
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
http RFC 2817 HTTP tunnel 3128
(squid)
passthru Sun in.telnet-gw none
socks4 SOCKS version 4 1080
socks5 SOCKS version 5 (RFC 1080
1928)
telnet No protocol (just send none
connect host port)

The special types socks4a and socks5d can also be used to force the proxy server to do the
hostname resolution for the SOCKS protocol.

RESOURCES

Certain s3270 options can be configured via resources. Resources are defined by -xrm
options. The definitions are similar to X11 resources, and use a similar syntax. The
resources available in s3270 are:

Resource Default Option Purpose
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
blankFill False -set blankFill Blank Fill mode
charset bracket -charset EBCDIC character
set
dbcsCgcsgid Override DBCS
CGCSGID
dsTrace False -trace Data stream tracing
eof ^D NVT-mode EOF
character
erase ^H NVT-mode erase
character
extended True Use 3270 extended
data stream
eventTrace False -trace Event tracing
icrnl False Map CR to NL on
NVT-mode input
inlcr False Map NL to CR in
NVT-mode input
intr ^C NVT-mode interrupt
character
kill ^U NVT-mode kill
character

lineWrap False -set lineWrap NVT line wrap mode
lnext ^V NVT-mode lnext
character
m3279 (note 1) -model 3279 (color)
emulation
monoCase False -set monoCase Mono-case mode
numericLock False Lock keyboard for
numeric field error
oerrLock False Lock keyboard for
input error
oversize -oversize Oversize screen
dimensions
port telnet -port Non-default TCP
port
quit ^\ NVT-mode quit
character
rprnt ^R NVT-mode reprint
character
sbcsCgcsgid Override SBCS
CGCSGID
secure False Disable "dangerous"
options
termName (note 2) -tn TELNET terminal
type string
traceDir /tmp Directory for trace
files
traceFile (note 3) -tracefile File for trace
output
werase ^W NVT-mode word-erase
character

Note 1: m3279 defaults to False. It can be forced to True with the proper -model
option.

Note 2: The default terminal type string is constructed from the model number,
color emulation, and extended data stream modes. E.g., a model 2 with color
emulation and the extended data stream option would be sent as IBM-3279-2-E. Note
also that when TN3270E mode is used, the terminal type is always sent as 3278, but
this does not affect color capabilities.

Note 3: The default trace file is x3trc.pid in the directory specified by the
traceDir resource.

If more than one -xrm option is given for the same resource, the last one on the command
line is used.

Use s3270 online using onworks.net services