Job Definition

The job definition is central to job scheduling.

The job definition defines:

• Which command to run

• Where the command runs

• When to run the job

• How to handle dependencies

• Whether to issue actions based on pre-defined job events

• The job priority relative to other jobs

When you want to schedule a command to be executed, you define a job. Once a job is defined, you can keep the definition and run the job repetitively according to its specified calendar, or as needed.

Each job defines only one command. The command can be an executable, a batch file (Windows only), a shell script, a command file or any other executable process. You can specify parameters to be passed to the command. This enables you to use one command in different ways, based upon the parameters that you pass to it.

Example: A job can back up files to tape, run a program to post transactions to a database or run a set of reports. In Tidal Automation, you give each job a name, and, if the job is repetitive, a calendar by which it runs. You can also define dependencies that must be met before the command is executed. Using the calendar, Tidal Automation automatically launches jobs each time they are scheduled to run, but only after all of their dependencies have been met.