Job Descriptions

A job description (type *JOBD) is an object that contains a set of job attributes that have been given a name for easy reference. When a job enters the system, it adopts many of its attributes from a given job description.

Job descriptions contain settings for many attributes, and many of them are too advanced to discuss in this book. Here are the most important attributes:

• Job queue (JOBQ). When you submit another job to batch, this setting determines which job queue you use by default in the Submit Job (SBMJOB) command.

• Output Queue (OUTQ). Unless otherwise indicated, all printed output produced by this job goes to the output queue named here. If OUTQ(*DEV) is specified, all printed output goes to the printer device named in the PRTDEV attribute.

• Initial Library List (INLLIBL). Lists the libraries to be included in this job's user portion of the library list. You can enter up to 250 library names.

• Message Logging (LOG). Controls the production of a job log when the job ends.

Benefits of Job Descriptions

Job descriptions are handy objects. They allow you to provide useful initial settings for all kinds of jobs. Job descriptions can be referenced in the SBMJOB command, so that the batch job you are creating starts with a particular set of attributes. Job descriptions can also be referenced in user profiles, so that when a user signs on, the job's attributes are set accordingly.

Referencing job descriptions in user profiles gives you control over jobs. For example, if all the users in the Accounting department need to have libraries GLLIB, APLIB, and ARLIB in their library list, you could create a job description that includes these library names in the INLLIBL parameter. Then you would change each Accounting user to reference the job description in the user profile, as follows:

      CRTJOBD JOBD(MGTLIB/ACCTG) INLLIBL(GLLIB APLIB ARLIB) +      TEXT('Job Description for Accounting')      CHGUSRPRF USRPRF(KAYE) JOBD(MGTLIB/ACCTG)      CHGUSRPRF USRPRF(BOB) JOBD(MGTLIB/ACCTG)      CHGUSRPRF USRPRF(TRISHA) JOBD(MGTLIB/ACCTG) 

From now on, users KAYE, BOB, and TRISHA (of Accounting) will use job description ACCTG in library MGTLIB. When they sign on, that job description automatically sets their library list to GLLIB (General Ledger), APLIB (Accounts Payable), and ARLIB (Accounts Receivable).

Naming Job Descriptions

If you are going to create job descriptions for each department, consider naming each job description after the department for which it is intended.

You should consider creating a different job description for each programmer in your organization. It is likely that they will need different settings depending on what project they happen to be working on at any given time. Programmers, therefore, should have individual job descriptions. Name the job description after the user profile of the programmer who is going to use it.

You could create a different job description for every user on your system, but that would be overkill.

Maintaining Job Descriptions

You can create a job description using the Create Job Description (CRTJOBD) command. After you have created it, you can display it using DSPJOBD, change it using CHGJOBD, delete it using DLTJOBD, and work with several job descriptions using WRKJOBD.

Be sure to use the command prompter when you change a job description. The command prompter brings the current values for all the parameters to the screen. All you need to do is type over these values and press Enter to change them.

For example, to change job description ACCTG:

      CHGJOBD JOBD(ACCTG) ... 

and press F4.