• The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
Menu
  • The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Job Descriptions: Underused and Underappreciated

    March 10, 2010 Ted Holt

    If every machine attached to the Internet were running a robust operating system like the IBM i, I doubt the malware problem would be nearly as severe as it is. Having said that, I wonder once again, as I do from time to time, why those who use IBM i neglect so many of its wonderful features. Today my thoughts turn to job descriptions.

    Before talking about job descriptions, let’s consider for a moment what a job is. Early in my career I acquired the bad habit of referring to a program or group of related programs as a job. I have since learned to use proper terms, like “program” and “application”. When we tell a computer to run a program in order to perform work, only then do we have a job.

    My late friend Ernie Malaga explained to me that a job, like a human, has a lifecycle. It’s born, it works, it dies. I would add that it’s planned (we hope) and leaves behind evidence (e.g., in reports and properly updated database files) of a beneficial existence.

    Another part of the analogy is that a job exists within an environment. The purpose of a job description is to define the environment in which a job will live out its life. For example:

    • the job queue from which the job will enter the subsystem;
    • the priority at which the job will run;
    • the CL command that will run;
    • the list of libraries that the system will search for unqualified objects.

    For a complete list of job attributes, see the help text of the Create Job Description (CRTJOBD) command.

    By way of example, here’s a typical Submit Job (SBMJOB) command.

    SBMJOB CMD(CALL PGM(COST2741R))
           JOB(COSTING)
           JOBQ(PRODUCTION)
           OUTQ(COSTACCT)
           PRTTXT('Company confidential')
    

    Here’s a job description for the same task.

    CRTJOBD JOBD(COSTING)
            JOBQ(PRODUCTION)
            OUTQ(COSTACCT)
            PRTTXT('Company confidential')
            RQSDTA('CALL PGM(COST2741R)')
    

    And here’s how to submit the job using the job description.

    SBMJOB JOB(COSTING) JOBD(COSTING) OUTQ(*JOBD) RQSDTA(*JOBD)
    

    One thing I like about using a job description is that the job can be made to run the same way no matter where it is submitted from.

    I also like that changing the way the job behaves requires a simple Change Job Description (CHGJOBD) command, rather than a modification to a CL program or menu.

    And if you want to create an autostart job, you must have a job description. See Admin Alert: Using OS/400 Autostart Jobs for Repetitious Server Processing, by Joe Hertvik, for more information.

    But what I most like about job descriptions is that almost every bit of information a job needs is stored in one tidy place where I can keep up with it.

    If you give it some thought, you’ll probably come up with some good places to use job descriptions in your shop.

    RELATED STORY

    Admin Alert: Using OS/400 Autostart Jobs for Repetitious Server Processing



                         Post this story to del.icio.us
                   Post this story to Digg
        Post this story to Slashdot

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Tags:

    Sponsored by
    Raz-Lee Security

    With COVID-19 wreaking havoc, cybercriminals are taking advantage of the global impact that it has had on our families, our businesses and our societies. It is more important now than ever to ensure that IT systems are protected, so that when all of this is behind us, we can get back to business as usual as quickly as possible.

    iSecurity Anti-Ransomware protects organizations against ransomware attacks and other kinds of malware that may access and change business-critical data on your IBM i. It even protects against zero-day attacks. Anti-Viruses can only report on the damage an attack has caused, but not stop it.

    iSecurity Anti-Ransomware has been recently enhanced with a Self-Test feature that allows you to simulate a ransomware attack on your IBM i. The simulated attack is limited to the test folder and cannot harm any other folders or files. This new feature lets organizations see how they are protected against known or unknown ransomware.

    Key Features:

    • Real-time scanning for known and unknown ransomware threats.
    • Blocks and disconnects the intruder.
    • Instantaneously sends alerts to SIEM as well as the offending computer.
    • Self-Test for attack simulation
    • Classification of the attack based on log.
    • Automatic updates with the most current ransomware definitions.

    Contact us at https://www.razlee.com/anti-ransomware

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Sponsored Links

    RevSoft:  Enterprise solutions for data transfers, messaging and scheduling
    Linoma Software:  IBM i Encryption and Tokenization with Crypto Complete 2.20
    COMMON:  Join us at the annual 2010 conference, May 3 - 6, in Orlando, Florida

    IT Jungle Store Top Book Picks

    Easy Steps to Internet Programming for AS/400, iSeries, and System i: List Price, $49.95
    The iSeries Express Web Implementer's Guide: List Price, $49.95
    The System i RPG & RPG IV Tutorial and Lab Exercises: List Price, $59.95
    The System i Pocket RPG & RPG IV Guide: List Price, $69.95
    The iSeries Pocket Database Guide: List Price, $59.00
    The iSeries Pocket SQL Guide: List Price, $59.00
    The iSeries Pocket Query Guide: List Price, $49.00
    The iSeries Pocket WebFacing Primer: List Price, $39.00
    Migrating to WebSphere Express for iSeries: List Price, $49.00
    Getting Started With WebSphere Development Studio Client for iSeries: List Price, $89.00
    Getting Started with WebSphere Express for iSeries: List Price, $49.00
    Can the AS/400 Survive IBM?: List Price, $49.00
    Chip Wars: List Price, $29.95

    ABI Says RFID Spending Old Code Meets New Ideas in Latest App Modernization Projects

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Volume 10, Number 9 -- March 10, 2010
THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY:

WorksRight Software
SEQUEL Software
CNX

Table of Contents

  • A Case for CASE
  • Job Descriptions: Underused and Underappreciated
  • Admin Alert: A Skeleton Checklist for Performing Power i Upgrades

Content archive

  • The Four Hundred
  • Four Hundred Stuff
  • Four Hundred Guru

Recent Posts

  • IBM Mulls Using DataMigrator as Cloud Warehouse Pipeline
  • PowerTech AV Automatically Detects Ransomware Activity
  • Infor Puts CM3 Project On Hold
  • Four Hundred Monitor, June 29
  • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 26
  • Guild Mortgage Takes The 20-Year Option For Modernization
  • IBM i Licensing, Part 3: Can The Hardware Bundle Be Cheaper Than A Smartphone?
  • Guru: The Finer Points of Exit Points
  • Big Blue Tweaks IBM i Pricing Ahead Of Subscription Model
  • We Still Want IBM i On The Impending Power E1050

Subscribe

To get news from IT Jungle sent to your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Contributors
  • Four Hundred Monitor
  • IBM i PTF Guide
  • Media Kit
  • Subscribe

Search

Copyright © 2022 IT Jungle

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.