Hercules Version 4: Installation and Operation

Contents

Building and Installing

Configuration

Creating DASD volumes

Operating Procedure

Technical Support

Building and Installing

By far easiest and most direct way to build Hercules is to use Bill Lewis's fantastic Hercules Helper tool, and not the below manual method.

Hercules Helper (for both Windows and non-Windows) completely automates the entire build process of downloading and installing all of the needed pieces and running all of needed commands to create a working Hercules. Simply download Bill's tool and enter a few simple commands, and within minutes you should have a working Hercules on your system.

Building from source - Windows

If you wish to build Hercules yourself manually however, the procedure is as follows:

  1. Clone the Hercules source code git repository (recommended), or download the source code .ZIP file from Github (discouraged!). 

        git clone  https://github.com/SDL-Hercules-390/hyperion.git  <directory-name>

    If you don't have git on your system, you will need to install it.

    Note: By downloading the source code .zip file (discouraged!) or by cloning the repository (recommended) you agree to the terms of the Hercules Q Public Licence.

  2. Hercules for Windows is built using the Microsoft Visual C/C++ (MSVC) compiler. Fish has updated manual build instructions for VS2015 and greater (as well as VS2008 too) on his MSVC Hercules Build Instructions web page, although as mentioned above, the by far easiest most reliable way to build Hercules on Windows is to use Bill Lewis's "Hercules Helper for Windows" tool, which is designed to build Hercules using much more current versions of Visual Studio.

  3. Be sure to read the Release Notes with every new release too, which contains important late-breaking information about each new release.

Windows pre-built binaries:

  1. Download one of the pre-built Official Release binaries from GitHub.

  2. (Optional) You might also want to install Fish's Hercules GUI for Windows and/or one or more of his other Hercules products.

Building from source - Mac OS X

Important - Not Recently Tested. May be obsolete.

  1. Install Xcode from the App Store.

  2. Install Homebrew using the procedure described at http://brew.sh/

  3. Use these commands to install pre-requisite software:

    brew install gnu-sed

  4. Proceed with Building from source - Linux and macOS below.

Building from source - Linux and macOS (High Sierra and newer)

Important: Please read everything before doing anything. Don't be bashful about asking for help.

Important: You must use at least version 6.2.0 of the gcc compiler and associated glibc2 library. Refer to the Hercules Frequently-Asked Questions page for required compiler and other software levels.

  1. Download the source code .ZIP file from Github, or even better, clone the repository. (Note: building from the source code .zip file is strongly discouraged. Instead, it is highly recommended that you clone the git repository and build from that instead. This allows the exact version of the source code to be determined, which is very helpful should a problem need to be diagnosed.) 

        git clone  https://github.com/SDL-Hercules-390/hyperion.git  <directory-name>

    Note: By downloading the .zip file (or cloning the repository) you agree to the terms of the Q Public Licence.

  2. Be sure to read the Release Notes with every new release, which contains important late-breaking information about each new release.

  3. Install the required packages appropriate for your system.

  4. Verify you have all of the correct versions of the more important packages installed:

    ./util/bldlvlck

    Please note that SDL Hyperion comes pre-delivered with an already pre-generated ./configure script, so doing a ./autogen.sh is not necessary and is in fact now strongly discouraged. An autogen would only be necessary if you were to manually make some changes to the Hercules default Makefile.am and/or configure.ac files (which under normal circumstances you should never need to do).

  5. Download and build all External Packages, if needed:

    Hercules links with several pre-built "External Package" static link libraries that have been pre-built for you and come distributed with Hercules (i.e. they are a part of the Hercules repository).

    Currently all of the external package static link libraries for the Intel x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) architectures for both Windows and Linux for both normal optimized Release builds as well as unoptimized Debug builds are already provided as part of the distribution. Thus to build Hercules you should not need to do anything special. Simply build Hercules just as you normally would.

    In some unusual situations however, you MIGHT need to rebuild ALL existing external packages for your particular system. Exactly what those situations are and what causes them to occur is unclear, but one thing is certain: it will never hurt to build all of the external packages anyway just to be safe.

    If you wish to modify or debug any of the external packages themselves (or need to build a non-Intel x86/x64 architecture build of Hercules however, such as arm, mips, ppc, sparc, xscale, etc), then you will need to manually build each of the external packages first in order to create the static link libraries that Hercules will need to link with, before you can then build Hercules.

    For more detailed External Package build information please refer to the README.EXTPKG document.

  6. Configure Hercules for your system:

    ./configure

    By default, the configure script will attempt to guess appropriate compiler optimization flags for your system. If its guesses turn out to be wrong, you can either specify your own optimization flags with --enable-optimization=FLAGS (preferred) or else as a last resort disable all optimization by passing the --disable-optimization option instead (not recommended). For additional configuration options, run: ./configure --help=short.

    For Apple macOS, these additional configure switches are recommended:

    --disable-getoptwrapper
    --without-included-ltdl

  7. Build the executables:

    make

  8. (Optional) Install the programs:

    sudo make install

    This is an optional step because once Hercules is built, you should be able to run Hercules directly from the Hercules build directory itself without needing to install anything beforehand. But if you want to officially install it somewhere, then by all means do so.

    It should be mentioned however, that if you do decide to run directly out of the build directory, you should first set the 'cap_sys_nice' capabilities on the Hercules executables and start Hercules as root. This will allow Hercules to properly set the priorities of its internal threads: 

    sudo setcap 'cap_sys_nice=eip' ./hercules
sudo setcap 'cap_sys_nice=eip' ./herclin
sudo setcap 'cap_net_admin+ep' ./hercifc
    You don't need to do this if you do sudo make install however since the makefile does this for you. You only need to do this when you decide to not install the results of the build and run directly out of the build directory instead.

Configuration

You will need to amend the configuration file hercules.cnf to reflect your device layout and intended mode of operation (S/370, ESA/390, or z/Architecture). See the Hercules Configuration File page for a complete description.

Creating DASD volumes

The Creating Hercules DASD page describes various methods of creating and loading virtual DASD volumes. The compressed CKD DASD support is described in this page.

Operating Procedure

Note! If you intend to run any licensed software on your PC using Hercules, it is your responsibility to ensure that you do not violate the software vendor's licensing terms!

 

Note: Hercules requires privileged access to your host's networking devices in order for Hercules networking to work properly. If your configuration contains any networking devices, then Hercules must be started with Administrative (root) privileges. If Hercules is not started with Administrative (root) privileges then initialization of your networking devices will fail and your guest's networking will not work properly. If your guest does not need access to your host's network Hercules should be run as a normal unprivileged user (the default).

Hercules can operate in either of two modes: (semi-)graphical "panel" mode or simple non-graphical standard command-line mode.

The default semi-graphical "panel" mode of operation is invoked by the "hercules.exe" executable, and the non-graphical standard command-line mode by the "herclin.exe" executable. They are both exactly identical except for how the terminal screen is managed.

In the normal (default) semi-graphical "panel" mode, hercules.exe draws to screen directly itself, and does not rely on any terminal manager functionality (Terminal or Command-Prompt program). It paints (draws) messages and other information (such as its command line and CPU status line) on specific screen lines starting at specific columns, etc:



hercules.exe managed Hardware Machine Console (HMC)


It relies on certain keystrokes (such as the PageUp and PageDown keys, etc) to perform actions such as displaying previously issued messages and switching to its alternate semi-graphical display panel via the Esc. key (which shows an overall summary of the machine's state, such as its current set of register values, list of devices, etc):



hercules.exe managed semi-graphical panel


When started in standard command-line mode via "herclin.exe", the terminal screen is managed completely by your host operating system's terminal management software. Hercules does not paint the screen itself at all. It simply issues messages to "stdout" just like any other command-line program and your operating system's terminal management software decides where on the screen that line will be displayed. Additionally, Hercules does not read directly from the command-ine itself either. Instead, it simply reads from "stdin" and processes the commands it reads. Your host operating system's terminal manager is in charge of managing the command-line, not Hercules:



Unmanaged "herclin.exe" terminal screen,
scrolled back several screens to see previously issued terminal commands.


In standard "herclin.exe" command-line mode, Hercules operates just like any other normal command-line program, and you can use the Terminal's scroll bar (if it has one) and/or your mouse's scroll wheel to scroll the screen backward or forward to see previously issued messages and/or commands and their responses. Your host operating system's terminal manager is in charge of painting the screen and reading the command line, not Hercules.

Command line arguments

To start Hercules in the default "panel" operating mode, enter this command at the host's command prompt: 

    hercules  [ -f filename ]           |  [ --config=filename ]
              [ -o logfile]             |  [ --output=logfile ]  |  [ --logfile=logfile ]
              [ -r rcfile ]             |  [ --rcfile=rcfile ]
              [ -b logofile ]           |  [ --herclogo=logofile ]
              [ -d ]                    |  [ --daemon ]
              [ -e ]                    |  [ --externalgui ]
              [ -p modpath ]            |  [ --modpath=modpath ]
              [ -l modname ] ...        |  [ --ldmod=modname ] ...
              [ -s symbol=value ] ...   |  [ --defsym=symbol=value ] ...
              [ -v ]                    |  [ --verbose ]
              [ -h ]                    |  [ --help[=type] ]
              [ -t[factor]]             |  [ --test[=factor]]

              [ > logfile ]

where:

filename

is the name of the configuration file. The default, if none is specified, is hercules.cnf. The default may be overridden via the "HERCULES_CNF" environment variable. If the value "none" is specified as the name of the configuration file, then Hercules is started without a configuration file using internal default values and no devices. Alternatively, specifying the filename as "NUL" on Windows or "/dev/null" on Linux means the same thing as specifying "none".

logfile

is the name of the optional log file. A log file receives a copy of all messages displayed on the Hercules control panel. PLEASE NOTE: providing a logfile is extremely important for bug reporting and problem analysis purposes! It is strongly recommended that you always specify this option!

rcfile

is the name of the Hercules .rc run commands file. The run commands file automatically executes panel commands upon startup. If not specified, the value of the "HERCULES_RC" environment variable is used. If no environment variable is defined, the default value "hercules.rc" is used. If the default "hercules.rc" file is not found, then the value "none" is used, indicating an .rc file will not be used.

logofile

is the name of the Hercules logo file. The logo file is the initial welcome screen presented when a TN 3270 terminal connects to a hercules 3270 device.

--daemon

specifies that Hercules is to be run in 'daemon' mode, wherein it runs invisibly with no attached console.

--externalgui

indicates Hercules is to be controlled by an External GUI.

modpath

is the directory from which dynamic modules are to be loaded. This option overrides both the MODPATH configuration file statement and system defaults. The system default varies depending on the host platform where Hercules is being run.

modname

is the name of an additional dynamic module to be loaded at startup. More than one additional module may be specified, although each must be preceded with the -l option specifier.

symbol=value

the name of a symbol and its associated value to be used in configuration file processing or panel commands. See the command 'defsym' for more information on using symbols. The '-s' option may be repeated. Note: 'value' may be quoted to contain embedded blanks.

--verbose

sets the message-level to verbose. This is the same as entering the command msglvl +verbose.

--help[=type]

displays help regarding the syntax of command-line arguments and, optionally, other information as well if the optional help type is also specified.

The optional type value identifies what type of help you want to display. Valid values are: short, long, version or build. Additionally, all and full are also accepted as aliases for long.

The short help option displays just the syntax of the the command line arguments. The version help option displays version information. The build option displays some of the more important optional features that Hercules was either built with or without. The long, all and full options displays all three types. The default is short (i.e. only the command-line syntax is shown).

--test[=factor]

starts Hercules in test mode, activating special .rc file script commands used only by QA test scripts. Normal Hercules use should never specify this switch.

factor is an optional test timeout factor within the range 1.0 to 14.3. The test timeout factor is used to adjust each test script's specified timeout value to compensate for the speed of the system on which they are running.

Use a factor greater than 1.0 on slower systems to slightly increase timeout values giving each test more time to complete.

Please note that due to manner in which command line arguments are parsed this option must be specified as one argument. Thus "-t2.0" is correct whereas "-t  2.0" is not. Oftentimes it is easier to use the long --test=factor syntax instead.

Test timeout values (specified as optional arguments on the special runtest script command) are a safety feature designed to prevent runaway tests from never ending. Normally tests end automatically the very moment they are done.

logfile

is the name of the optional (but highly recommended!) log file. The log file receives a copy of all messages displayed on the control panel and is extremely important to have for problem analysis and bug reporting.

Next connect a tn3270 client to the console port (normally port 3270). The client will be connected to the first 3270 device address specified in the configuration file (this should be the master console address). If your master console is a 1052 or 3215, connect a telnet client instead of a tn3270 client.

Now you can enter an ipl command from the control panel.


Using the keyboard

In the default "panel" operating mode, the main Hercules screen contains a scrollable list of messages with a command input area and system status line at the bottom of the screen. (see further above)

To scroll through the messages, use either the Page Up or Page Down keys, the Ctrl + Up Arrow or Ctrl + Down Arrow keys, or the Home or End and/or the Ctrl + Home or Ctrl + End keys.

Use the Insert key to switch between insert and overlay mode when typing in the command input area. Use the Home and End keys to move to the first or last character of the command you are typing, or the use the left/right arrow keys to move to a specific character. Use the Escape key to erase the input area.

Pressing Escape when the command input area is already empty causes the screen to switch to the semi-graphical "New Panel" display mode, which shows the overall status of the system and devices.

When in the semi-graphical "New Panel" display mode there is no command input area. Instead, single character "hot keys" are used to issue some of the more common functions such as starting or stopping the CPU. The hot-keys are those which are highlighted. Pressing the '?' key displays brief help information on how to use the semi-graphical panel.

Normal cursor handling
Key Action
Esc Erases the contents of the command input area. If the command input area is already empty, switches to semi-graphical New Panel.
Del Deletes the character at the cursor position.
Backspace Erases the previous character.
Insert Toggles between insert mode and overlay mode.
Tab Attempts to complete the partial file name at the cursor position in the command input area. If more than one possible file exists, a list of matching file names is displayed.
Home Moves the cursor to the start of the input in the command input area. If the command input area is empty, scrolls the message area to the top.
End Moves the cursor to the end of the input in the command input area. If the command input area is empty, scrolls the message area to the bottom.
Page Up Scrolls the message area up one screen.
Page Down Scrolls the message area down one screen.
Up arrow Recalls previous command into the input area.
Down arrow Recalls next command into the input area.
Right arrow Moves cursor to next character of input area.
Left arrow Moves cursor to previous character of input area.
Ctrl + Up arrow Scrolls the message area up one line.
Ctrl + Down arrow Scrolls the message area down one line.
Ctrl + Home Scrolls the message area to the top.
Ctrl + End Scrolls the message area to the bottom.


The following additional keyboard functions are effective when the Hercules Extended Cursor Handling feature (OPTION_EXTCURS) is activated at compile time. At present, this feature is activated on the Windows platform only:

Extended cursor handling
Key Action
Alt + Up arrow Moves cursor up one row.
Alt + Down arrow Moves cursor down one row.
Alt + Right arrow Moves cursor right one column.
Alt + Left arrow Moves cursor left one column.
Tab If cursor is outside the command input area, moves cursor to the start of the input in the command input area. Otherwise behaves as described in previous table.
Home If cursor is outside the command input area, moves cursor to the start of the input in the command input area. Otherwise behaves as described in previous table.
End If cursor is outside the command input area, moves cursor to the end of the input in the command input area. Otherwise behaves as described in previous table.

Panel commands

The following is what is displayed on the Hercules hardware console (HMC) in response to the '?' command being entered. Please note that it may not be completely accurate or up-to-date. Enter the '?' command for yourself for a more complete, accurate and up-to-date list of supported panel commands: 


     Command               Description
     ----------------      -----------------------------------------------
     !message             *SCP priority message
     #                     Silent comment
     $locate               Display sysblk, regs or hostinfo
     $runtest             *Start the test if test mode is active
     $test                *Your custom command (*DANGEROUS!*)
     $zapcmd              *Enable/disable command (*CAREFUL!*)
     *                     Loud comment
     .reply               *SCP command
     ?                     alias for help
     abs                  *Display or alter absolute storage
     aea                   Display AEA tables
     aia                   Display AIA fields
     alrf                  Command deprecated. Use facility command instead
     ar                    Display access registers
     archlvl              *Set or Query current Architecture Mode
     archmode              Deprecated. Use the archlvl command instead
     asn_and_lx_reuse      Command deprecated. Use facility command instead
     attach               *Configure device
     auto_scsi_mount      *Command deprecated - Use "SCSIMOUNT"
     autoinit             *Display/Set auto-create-empty-tape-file option
     automount            *Display/Update allowable tape automount directories
     b                    *Set breakpoint
     b+                    (Synonym for 'b')
     b-                    Delete breakpoint
     b?                    Query breakpoint
     cachestats            Cache stats command
     cckd                 *Compressed CKD command
     cctape               *Display a printer's current cctape
     cf                   *Configure current CPU online or offline
     cfall                 Configure all CPU's online or offline
     clocks                Display tod clkc and cpu timer
     cmdlvl               *Display/Set current command group
     cmdsep               *Display/Set command line separator
     cmpscpad             *Set/display the CMPSC zero padding value.
     cnslport              Set console port
     codepage             *Set/display code page conversion table
     conkpalv             *Display/alter console TCP keepalive settings
     cp_updt              *Create/Modify user character conversion table
     cpu                  *Define target cpu for panel display and commands
     cpuidfmt              Set format BASIC/0/1 STIDP generation
     cpumodel              Set CPU model number
     cpuprio              *(deprecated)
     cpuserial             Set CPU serial number
     cpuverid             *Set CPU version number
     cr                   *Display or alter control registers
     cscript              *Cancels a running script thread
     ctc                  *Enable/Disable CTC debugging
     define               *Rename device
     defsym               *Define symbol
     delsym               *Delete a symbol
     detach               *Remove device
     devinit              *Reinitialize device
     devlist              *List device, device class, or all devices
     devprio              *(deprecated)
     devtmax              *Display or set max device threads
     diag8cmd             *Set DIAG 8 instruction options
     ds                    Display subchannel
     dumpdev              *Specify bootstrap loader DUMP parameters
     ecps:vm              *Command deprecated - Use "ECPSVM"
     ecpsvm               *ECPS:VM Commands
     engines               Set engines parameter
     evm                  *Command deprecated - Use "ECPSVM"
     exec                 *Execute a Rexx script
     exit                  (Synonym for 'quit')
     ext                   Generate external interrupt
     f?                    Query unusable page frame range(s)
     facility             *Enable/Disable/Query z/Arch STFLE Facility bits
     fcb                  *Display a printer's current FCB
     fpc                  *Display or alter floating point control register
     fpr                  *Display or alter floating point registers
     f{+/-}adr            *Mark page frame(s) as +usable/-unusable
     g                     Turn off instruction stepping and start all CPUs
     gpr                  *Display or alter general purpose registers
     hao                  *Hercules Automatic Operator
     help                 *list all commands / command specific help
     herclogo             *Read a new hercules logo file
     hercnice             *(deprecated)
     hercprio             *(deprecated)
     hst                  *History of commands
     http                 *Start/Stop/Modify/Display HTTP Server
     hwldr                *Specify boot loader filename
     i                     Generate I/O attention interrupt for device
     iodelay              *Display or set I/O delay value
     ipending              Display pending interrupts
     ipl                  *IPL from device or file
     iplc                 *Command deprecated - use IPL with clear option
     k                     Display cckd internal trace
     ldmod                *Load a module
     legacysenseid         Set legacysenseid setting
     loadcore             *Load a core image file
     loaddev              *Specify bootstrap loader IPL parameters
     loadparm             *Set the default IPL 'LOADPARM' parameter
     loadtext             *Load a text deck file
     locks                *Display internal locks list
     log                  *Direct logger output
     logopt               *Set/Display logging options
     lparname             *Set LPAR name
     lparnum              *Set LPAR identification number
     lsdep                 List module dependencies
     lsequ                 List device equates
     lsmod                *List dynamic modules
     mainsize             *Define/Display mainsize parameter
     manufacturer          Set STSI manufacturer code
     maxcpu                Set maxcpu parameter
     maxrates             *Display highest MIPS/SIOS rate or set interval
     message              *Display message on console a la VM
     model                *Set/Query STSI model code
     modpath              *Set module load path
     mounted_tape_reinit  *Control tape initialization
     msg                   Alias for message
     msglevel             *Display/Set current Message Display output
     msglvl                Alias for msglevel
     msgnoh                Similar to "message" but no header
     mt                   *Control magnetic tape operation
     netdev               *Set default host networking device
     numcpu                Set numcpu parameter
     osa                  *(Synonym for 'qeth')
     ostailor             *Tailor trace information for specific OS
     o{+/-}dev             Turn ORB tracing on/off
     panopt               *Set or display panel options
     panrate               (deprecated; use PANOPT RATE=nnn instead)
     pantitle              (deprecated; use PANOPT TITLE=xxx instead)
     pgmprdos             *Set LPP license setting
     pgmtrace             *Trace program interrupts
     plant                 Set STSI plant code
     pr                   *Display or alter prefix register
     psw                  *Display or alter program status word
     ptp                  *Enable/Disable PTP debugging
     ptt                  *Activate or display internal trace table
     qcpuid               *Display cpuid(s)
     qd                   *Query device information
     qeth                 *Enable/Disable QETH debugging
     qpfkeys               Display the current PF Key settings
     qpid                  Display Process ID of Hercules
     qports                Display TCP/IP ports in use
     qproc                 Display processors type and utilization
     qstor                 Display main and expanded storage values
     quiet                *Toggle automatic refresh of panel display data
     quit                 *Terminate the emulator
     r                    *Display or alter real storage
     restart               Generate restart interrupt
     resume                Resume hercules
     rexx                 *Modify/Display Hercules's Rexx settings
     rmmod                 Delete a module
     s                    *Instruction stepping
     s+                   *Activate instruction stepping
     s-                    Turn off instruction stepping
     s?                   *Query instruction stepping
     savecore             *Save a core image to file
     sclproot             *Set SCLP base directory
     scpecho              *Set/Display option to echo to console and history of scp replies
     scpimply             *Set/Display option to pass non-hercules commands to the scp
     script               *Run a sequence of panel commands contained in a file
     scsimount            *Automatic SCSI tape mounts
     sf+dev               *Add shadow file
     sf-dev               *Delete shadow file
     sfc                  *Compress shadow files
     sfd                  *Display shadow file stats
     sfk                  *Check shadow files
     sh                   *Shell command
     shcmdopt             *Set shell command options
     shrd                 *shrd command
     shrdport             *Set shrdport value
     sizeof                Display size of structures
     srvprio              *(deprecated)
     ssd                  *Signal shutdown
     start                *Start CPU (or printer/punch device if argument given)
     startall              Start all CPU's
     stop                 *Stop CPU (or printer/punch device if argument given)
     stopall               Stop all CPU's
     store                 Store CPU status at absolute zero
     suspend               Suspend hercules
     symptom               Alias for traceopt
     sysclear             *System Clear Reset manual operation
     sysepoch              Set sysepoch parameter
     sysreset             *System Reset manual operation
     s{+/-}dev             Turn CCW stepping on/off
     t                    *Set tracing range or Query tracing
     t+                   *Turn on instruction tracing
     t+-                  *Automatic instruction tracing
     t-                    Turn off instruction tracing
     t?                   *Query instruction tracing values
     threads              *Display internal threads list
     timerint             *Display or set timers update interval
     tlb                   Display TLB tables
     toddrag               Display or set TOD clock drag factor
     todprio              *(deprecated)
     traceopt             *Instruction and/or CCW trace display option
     tt32                 *Control/query CTCI-WIN functionality
     txf                  *Transactional-Execution Facility tracing
     tzoffset              Set tzoffset parameter
     t{+/-}CKD [devnum]    Turn CKD Search Key tracing on/off
     t{+/-}dev             Turn CCW tracing on/off
     u                    *Disassemble storage
     uptime                Display how long Hercules has been running
     v                    *Display or alter virtual storage
     version               Display version information
     xpndsize             *Define/Display xpndsize parameter
     yroffset              Set yroffset parameter

      (*)  Enter "help <command>" for more info.

The ipl command may also be used to perform a load from cdrom or server. For example if a standard SuSE S/390 Linux distribution CD is loaded and mounted on /cdrom for example, this cdrom may then be ipl-ed by: ipl /cdrom/suse.ins

The attach and detach commands are used to dynamically add or remove devices from the configuration, and the define command can be used to alter the device number of an existing device.

The devinit command can be used to reopen an existing device. The args (if specified) override the arguments specified in the configuration file for this device. The device type cannot be changed and must not be specified. This command can be used to rewind a tape, to mount a new tape or disk image file on an existing device, to load a new card deck into a reader, or to close and reopen a printer or punch device.

In single-step mode, pressing the enter key will advance to the next instruction.

There is also an alternate semi-graphical control panel. Press Esc to switch between the command line format and the semi-graphical format. Press ? to obtain help in either control panel.

When a command is prefixed with '-' (minus sign or dash), then the command will not be redisplayed at the console. This can be used in scripts and is also used internally when commands are to be invoked without being redisplayed at the panel.

Additional Command Help

Some commands also offer additional help information regarding their syntax, etc. Enter  "help <command name>"   to display this additional help information. (Note: not every command supports additional help)

The  hercules.rc  (run-commands)  file

Hercules also supports the ability to automatically execute panel commands upon startup via the 'run-commands' file. If the run-commands file is found to exist when Hercules starts, each line contained within it is read and interpreted as a panel command exactly as if the command were entered from the HMC system console.

The default filename for the run-commands file is "hercules.rc", but may be overridden by setting the "HERCULES_RC" environment variable to the desired filename.

Except for the 'pause' command (see paragraph further below), each command read from the run-commands file is logged to the console preceded by a '> ' (greater-than sign) character so you can easily distinguish between panel commands entered from the keyboard from those entered via the .rc file.

Lines starting with '#' (pound or hash) are treated as "silent comments" and are thus not logged to the console. Line starting with '*' (asterisk) however are treated as "loud comments" and will be logged.

In addition to being able to execute any valid panel command (including the 'sh' shell command) via the run-commands file, an additional 'pause nnn' command is supported in order to introduce a brief delay before reading and processing the next line in the file. The value nnn can be any number from 0.001 to 999.0 and specifies the number of seconds to delay before reading the next line. Creative use of the run-commands file can completely automate Hercules startup.

The "Hercules Automatic Operator" (HAO) Facility

The Hercules Automatic Operator (HAO) feature is a facility which can automatically issue panel commands in response to specific messages appearing on the Hercules console.

To use the Hercules Automatic Operator facility, you first define a "rule" consisting of a "target" and an associated "command". The "target" is a regular expression pattern used to match against the text of the various messages that Hercules issues as it runs. Whenever a match is found, the rule "fires" (is triggered) and its associated command is automatically issued.

The Hercules Automatic Operator facility only operates on messages issued to the Hercules console. These messages may originate from Hercules itself, or from the guest operating system via the SCP SYSCONS interface or via the integrated console printer-keyboard (3215-C or 1052-C). HAO cannot intercept messages issued by the guest operating system to its own 3270 terminals.

Defining a Rule

To define a HAO rule, enter the command: 

   hao tgt target

to define the rule's "target" match pattern, followed by a second command: 

   hao cmd command

to define that rule's associated panel-command.

The target is a regular expression as defined by your host platform. When running on Linux, Hercules uses POSIX Extended Regular Expression syntax. On a Windows platform, regular expression support is provided by Perl Compatible Regular Expression (PCRE). The HAO facility can only be used if regular expression support was included in Hercules at build time.

The associated command is whatever valid Hercules panel command you wish to issue in response to a message being issued that matches the given target pattern.

Substituting substrings in the command

The command may contain special variables $1, $2, etc, which will be replaced by the values of "capturing groups" in the match pattern. A capturing group is a part of the regular expression enclosed in parentheses which is matched with text in the target message. In this way, commands may be constructed which contain substrings extracted from the message which triggered the command.

The following special variables are recognized:

Note that substitution of a $n variable does not occur if there are fewer than n capturing groups in the regular expression.

As an example, the rule below issues the command "i 001F" in response to the Hercules message "HHC01090I 0:001F COMM: client 127.0.0.1 devtype 3270: connection reset": 

   hao tgt HHC01090I .:([0-9A-F]{4}) COMM: .* connection reset
   hao cmd i $1

Another example, shown below, illustrates how the dot matrix display of a 3590(?) tape unit might be used to implement an automatic tape library in response to the Hercules message "HHC00224I 0:0581 Tape file *, type HET: display "K2DSBK2 " / "M2DSBK3S" (alternating)": 

   hao tgt HHC00224I .:([0-9A-F]{4}) Tape file .*: display (?:".{8}" \/ )?"M([A-Z0-9]{1,6})\s*S"
   hao cmd devinit $1 /u/tapes/$2.aws
Which would result in the Hercules command "devinit 0581 /u/tapes/2DSBK3.aws" being automatically issued.

More information about Perl Compatible Regular Expression (PCRE) syntax (as well as a nice online web page that allows you to test your expressions) can be found here:

Other commands and limitations

To delete a fully or partially defined HAO rule, first use the "hao list" command to list all of the defined (or partially defined) rules, and then use the "hao del nnn" command to delete the specific rule identified by nnn (all rules are assigned numbers as they are defined and are thus identified by their numeric value). Optionally, you can delete all defined or partially defined rules by issuing the command "hao clear".

The current implementation limits the total number of defined rules to 64. This limit may be raised by increasing the value of the HAO_MAXRULE constant in source file hao.c and then rebuilding Hercules.

All defined rules are checked for a match each time Hercules issues a message. There is no way to specify "stop processing subsequent rules". If a message is issued that matches two or more rules, each associated command is then issued in sequence.

Technical Support

For technical support, please see our Technical Support web page.

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