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PROGRAM:

NAME

qalter — alter batch job

SYNOPSIS

qalter [−a date_time] [−A account_string] [−c interval] [−e path_name]
[−h hold_list] [−j join_list] [−k keep_list] [−l resource_list]
[−m mail_options] [−M mail_list] [−N name] [−o path_name]
[−p priority] [−r y|n] [−S path_name_list] [−u user_list]
job_identifier...

DESCRIPTION

The attributes of a batch job are altered by a request to the batch server that manages
the batch job. The qalter utility is a user-accessible batch client that requests the
alteration of the attributes of one or more batch jobs.

The qalter utility shall alter the attributes of those batch jobs, and only those batch
jobs, for which a batch job_identifier is presented to the utility.

The qalter utility shall alter the attributes of batch jobs in the order in which the
batch job_identifiers are presented to the utility.

If the qalter utility fails to process a batch job_identifier successfully, the utility
shall proceed to process the remaining batch job_identifiers, if any.

For each batch job_identifier for which the qalter utility succeeds, each attribute of the
identified batch job shall be altered as indicated by all the options presented to the
utility.

For each identified batch job for which the qalter utility fails, the utility shall not
alter any attribute of the batch job.

For each batch job that the qalter utility processes, the utility shall not modify any
attribute other than those required by the options and option-arguments presented to the
utility.

The qalter utility shall alter batch jobs by sending a Modify Job Request to the batch
server that manages each batch job. At the time the qalter utility exits, it shall have
modified the batch job corresponding to each successfully processed batch job_identifier.
An attempt to alter the attributes of a batch job in the RUNNING state is implementation-
defined.

OPTIONS

The qalter utility shall conform to the Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2008, Section
12.2, Utility Syntax Guidelines.

The following options shall be supported by the implementation:

−a date_time
Redefine the time at which the batch job becomes eligible for execution.

The date_time argument shall be in the same form and represent the same time as
for the touch utility. The time so represented shall be set into the
Execution_Time attribute of the batch job. If the time specified is earlier than
the current time, the −a option shall have no effect.

−A account_string
Redefine the account to which the resource consumption of the batch job should
be charged.

The syntax of the account_string option-argument is unspecified.

The qalter utility shall set the Account_Name attribute of the batch job to the
value of the account_string option-argument.

−c interval
Redefine whether the batch job should be checkpointed, and if so, how often.

The qalter utility shall accept a value for the interval option-argument that is
one of the following:

n No checkpointing is to be performed on the batch job (NO_CHECKPOINT).

s Checkpointing is to be performed only when the batch server is shut
down (CHECKPOINT_AT_SHUTDOWN).

c Automatic periodic checkpointing is to be performed at the
Minimum_Cpu_Interval attribute of the batch queue, in units of CPU
minutes (CHECKPOINT_AT_MIN_CPU_INTERVAL).

c=minutes Automatic periodic checkpointing is to be performed every minutes of
CPU time, or every Minimum_Cpu_Interval minutes, whichever is greater.
The minutes argument shall conform to the syntax for unsigned integers
and shall be greater than zero.

An implementation may define other checkpoint intervals. The conformance
document for an implementation shall describe any alternative checkpoint
intervals, how they are specified, their internal behavior, and how they affect
the behavior of the utility.

The qalter utility shall set the Checkpoint attribute of the batch job to the
value of the interval option-argument.

−e path_name
Redefine the path to be used for the standard error stream of the batch job.

The qalter utility shall accept a path_name option-argument that conforms to the
syntax of the path_name element defined in the System Interfaces volume of
POSIX.1‐2008, which can be preceded by a host name element of the form
hostname:.

If the path_name option-argument constitutes an absolute pathname, the qalter
utility shall set the Error_Path attribute of the batch job to the value of the
path_name option-argument, including the host name element, if present.

If the path_name option-argument constitutes a relative pathname and no host
name element is specified, the qalter utility shall set the Error_Path attribute
of the batch job to the value of the absolute pathname derived by expanding the
path_name option-argument relative to the current directory of the process that
executes the qalter utility.

If the path_name option-argument constitutes a relative pathname and a host name
element is specified, the qalter utility shall set the Error_Path attribute of
the batch job to the value of the option-argument without expansion.

If the path_name option-argument does not include a host name element, the
qalter utility shall prefix the pathname in the Error_Path attribute with
hostname:, where hostname is the name of the host upon which the qalter utility
is being executed.

−h hold_list
Redefine the types of holds, if any, on the batch job. The qalter −h option
shall accept a value for the hold_list option-argument that is a string of
alphanumeric characters in the portable character set.

The qalter utility shall accept a value for the hold_list option-argument that
is a string of one or more of the characters 'u', 's', or 'o', or the single
character 'n'. For each unique character in the hold_list option-argument, the
qalter utility shall add a value to the Hold_Types attribute of the batch job as
follows, each representing a different hold type:

u USER

s SYSTEM

o OPERATOR

If any of these characters are duplicated in the hold_list option-argument, the
duplicates shall be ignored. An existing Hold_Types attribute can be cleared by
the hold type:

n NO_HOLD

The qalter utility shall consider it an error if any hold type other than 'n' is
combined with hold type 'n'. Strictly conforming applications shall not repeat
any of the characters 'u', 's', 'o', or 'n' within the hold_list option-
argument. The qalter utility shall permit the repetition of characters, but
shall not assign additional meaning to the repeated characters. An
implementation may define other hold types. The conformance document for an
implementation shall describe any additional hold types, how they are specified,
their internal behavior, and how they affect the behavior of the utility.

−j join_list
Redefine which streams of the batch job are to be merged. The qalter −j option
shall accept a value for the join_list option-argument that is a string of
alphanumeric characters in the portable character set.

The qalter utility shall accept a join_list option-argument that consists of one
or more of the characters 'e' and 'o', or the single character 'n'.

All of the other batch job output streams specified shall be merged into the
output stream represented by the character listed first in the join_list option-
argument.

For each unique character in the join_list option-argument, the qalter utility
shall add a value to the Join_Path attribute of the batch job as follows, each
representing a different batch job stream to join:

e The standard error of the batch job (JOIN_STD_ERROR).

o The standard output of the batch job (JOIN_STD_OUTPUT).

An existing Join_Path attribute can be cleared by the join type:

n NO_JOIN

If 'n' is specified, then no files are joined. The qalter utility shall consider
it an error if any join type other than 'n' is combined with join type 'n'.

Strictly conforming applications shall not repeat any of the characters 'e',
'o', or 'n' within the join_list option-argument. The qalter utility shall
permit the repetition of characters, but shall not assign additional meaning to
the repeated characters.

An implementation may define other join types. The conformance document for an
implementation shall describe any additional batch job streams, how they are
specified, their internal behavior, and how they affect the behavior of the
utility.

−k keep_list
Redefine which output of the batch job to retain on the execution host.

The qalter −k option shall accept a value for the keep_list option-argument that
is a string of alphanumeric characters in the portable character set.

The qalter utility shall accept a keep_list option-argument that consists of one
or more of the characters 'e' and 'o', or the single character 'n'.

For each unique character in the keep_list option-argument, the qalter utility
shall add a value to the Keep_Files attribute of the batch job as follows, each
representing a different batch job stream to keep:

e The standard error of the batch job (KEEP_STD_ERROR).

o The standard output of the batch job (KEEP_STD_OUTPUT).

If both 'e' and 'o' are specified, then both files are retained. An existing
Keep_Files attribute can be cleared by the keep type:

n NO_KEEP

If 'n' is specified, then no files are retained. The qalter utility shall
consider it an error if any keep type other than 'n' is combined with keep type
'n'.

Strictly conforming applications shall not repeat any of the characters 'e',
'o', or 'n' within the keep_list option-argument. The qalter utility shall
permit the repetition of characters, but shall not assign additional meaning to
the repeated characters. An implementation may define other keep types. The
conformance document for an implementation shall describe any additional keep
types, how they are specified, their internal behavior, and how they affect the
behavior of the utility.

−l resource_list
Redefine the resources that are allowed or required by the batch job.

The qalter utility shall accept a resource_list option-argument that conforms to
the following syntax:

resource=value[,,resource=value,,...]

The qalter utility shall set one entry in the value of the Resource_List
attribute of the batch job for each resource listed in the resource_list option-
argument.

Because the list of supported resource names might vary by batch server, the
qalter utility shall rely on the batch server to validate the resource names and
associated values. See Section 3.3.3, Multiple Keyword-Value Pairs for a means
of removing keyword=value (and value@keyword) pairs and other general rules for
list-oriented batch job attributes.

−m mail_options
Redefine the points in the execution of the batch job at which the batch server
is to send mail about a change in the state of the batch job.

The qalter −m option shall accept a value for the mail_options option-argument
that is a string of alphanumeric characters in the portable character set.

The qalter utility shall accept a value for the mail_options option-argument
that is a string of one or more of the characters 'e', 'b', and 'a', or the
single character 'n'. For each unique character in the mail_options option-
argument, the qalter utility shall add a value to the Mail_Users attribute of
the batch job as follows, each representing a different time during the life of
a batch job at which to send mail:

e MAIL_AT_EXIT

b MAIL_AT_BEGINNING

a MAIL_AT_ABORT

If any of these characters are duplicated in the mail_options option-argument,
the duplicates shall be ignored.

An existing Mail_Points attribute can be cleared by the mail type:

n NO_MAIL

If 'n' is specified, then mail is not sent. The qalter utility shall consider it
an error if any mail type other than 'n' is combined with mail type 'n'.
Strictly conforming applications shall not repeat any of the characters 'e',
'b', 'a', or 'n' within the mail_options option-argument. The qalter utility
shall permit the repetition of characters but shall not assign additional
meaning to the repeated characters.

An implementation may define other mail types. The conformance document for an
implementation shall describe any additional mail types, how they are specified,
their internal behavior, and how they affect the behavior of the utility.

−M mail_list
Redefine the list of users to which the batch server that executes the batch job
is to send mail, if the batch server sends mail about the batch job.

The syntax of the mail_list option-argument is unspecified. If the
implementation of the qalter utility uses a name service to locate users, the
utility shall accept the syntax used by the name service.

If the implementation of the qalter utility does not use a name service to
locate users, the implementation shall accept the following syntax for user
names:

mail_address[,,mail_address,,...]

The interpretation of mail_address is implementation-defined.

The qalter utility shall set the Mail_Users attribute of the batch job to the
value of the mail_list option-argument.

−N name Redefine the name of the batch job.

The qalter −N option shall accept a value for the name option-argument that is a
string of up to 15 alphanumeric characters in the portable character set where
the first character is alphabetic.

The syntax of the name option-argument is unspecified.

The qalter utility shall set the Job_Name attribute of the batch job to the
value of the name option-argument.

−o path_name
Redefine the path for the standard output of the batch job.

The qalter utility shall accept a path_name option-argument that conforms to the
syntax of the path_name element defined in the System Interfaces volume of
POSIX.1‐2008, which can be preceded by a host name element of the form
hostname:.

If the path_name option-argument constitutes an absolute pathname, the qalter
utility shall set the Output_Path attribute of the batch job to the value of the
path_name option-argument.

If the path_name option-argument constitutes a relative pathname and no host
name element is specified, the qalter utility shall set the Output_Path
attribute of the batch job to the absolute pathname derived by expanding the
path_name option-argument relative to the current directory of the process that
executes the qalter utility.

If the path_name option-argument constitutes a relative pathname and a host name
element is specified, the qalter utility shall set the Output_Path attribute of
the batch job to the value of the path_name option-argument without any
expansion of the pathname.

If the path_name option-argument does not include a host name element, the
qalter utility shall prefix the pathname in the Output_Path attribute with
hostname:, where hostname is the name of the host upon which the qalter utility
is being executed.

−p priority
Redefine the priority of the batch job.

The qalter utility shall accept a value for the priority option-argument that
conforms to the syntax for signed decimal integers, and which is not less than
−1024 and not greater than 1023.

The qalter utility shall set the Priority attribute of the batch job to the
value of the priority option-argument.

−r y|n Redefine whether the batch job is rerunnable.

If the value of the option-argument is 'y', the qalter utility shall set the
Rerunable attribute of the batch job to TRUE.

If the value of the option-argument is 'n', the qalter utility shall set the
Rerunable attribute of the batch job to FALSE.

The qalter utility shall consider it an error if any character other than 'y' or
'n' is specified in the option-argument.

−S path_name_list
Redefine the shell that interprets the script at the destination system.

The qalter utility shall accept a path_name_list option-argument that conforms
to the following syntax:

pathname[@host][,pathname[@host],...]

The qalter utility shall accept only one pathname that is missing a
corresponding host name. The qalter utility shall allow only one pathname per
named host.

The qalter utility shall add a value to the Shell_Path_List attribute of the
batch job for each entry in the path_name_list option-argument. See Section
3.3.3, Multiple Keyword-Value Pairs for a means of removing keyword=value (and
value@keyword) pairs and other general rules for list-oriented batch job
attributes.

−u user_list
Redefine the user name under which the batch job is to run at the destination
system.

The qalter utility shall accept a user_list option-argument that conforms to the
following syntax:

username[@host][,,username[@host],,...]

The qalter utility shall accept only one user name that is missing a
corresponding host name. The qalter utility shall accept only one user name per
named host.

The qalter utility shall add a value to the User_List attribute of the batch job
for each entry in the user_list option-argument. See Section 3.3.3, Multiple
Keyword-Value Pairs for a means of removing keyword=value (and value@keyword)
pairs and other general rules for list-oriented batch job attributes.

OPERANDS

The qalter utility shall accept one or more operands that conform to the syntax for a
batch job_identifier (see Section 3.3.1, Batch Job Identifier).

STDIN

Not used.

INPUT FILES

None.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

The following environment variables shall affect the execution of qalter:

LANG Provide a default value for the internationalization variables that are unset or
null. (See the Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2008, Section 8.2,
Internationalization Variables the precedence of internationalization variables
used to determine the values of locale categories.)

LC_ALL If set to a non-empty string value, override the values of all the other
internationalization variables.

LC_CTYPE Determine the locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data
as characters (for example, single-byte as opposed to multi-byte characters in
arguments).

LC_MESSAGES
Determine the locale that should be used to affect the format and contents of
diagnostic messages written to standard error.

LOGNAME Determine the login name of the user.

TZ Determine the timezone used to interpret the date-time option-argument. If TZ is
unset or null, an unspecified default timezone shall be used.

ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS

Default.

STDOUT

None.

STDERR

The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.

OUTPUT FILES

None.

EXTENDED DESCRIPTION

None.

EXIT STATUS

The following exit values shall be returned:

0 Successful completion.

>0 An error occurred.

CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS

In addition to the default behavior, the qalter utility shall not be required to write a
diagnostic message to standard error when the error reply received from a batch server
indicates that the batch job_identifier does not exist on the server. Whether or not the
qalter utility attempts to locate the batch job on other batch servers is implementation-
defined.

The following sections are informative.

APPLICATION USAGE

None.

EXAMPLES

None.

RATIONALE

The qalter utility allows users to change the attributes of a batch job.

As a means of altering a queued job, the qalter utility is superior to deleting and
requeuing the batch job insofar as an altered job retains its place in the queue with some
traditional selection algorithms. In addition, the qalter utility is both shorter and
simpler than a sequence of qdel and qsub utilities.

The result of an attempt on the part of a user to alter a batch job in a RUNNING state is
implementation-defined because a batch job in the RUNNING state will already have opened
its output files and otherwise performed any actions indicated by the options in effect at
the time the batch job began execution.

The options processed by the qalter utility are identical to those of the qsub utility,
with a few exceptions: −V, −v, and −q. The −V and −v are inappropriate for the qalter
utility, since they capture potentially transient environment information from the
submitting process. The −q option would specify a new queue, which would largely negate
the previously stated advantage of using qalter; furthermore, the qmove utility provides a
superior means of moving jobs.

Each of the following paragraphs provides the rationale for a qalter option.

Additional rationale concerning these options can be found in the rationale for the qsub
utility.

The −a option allows users to alter the date and time at which a batch job becomes
eligible to run.

The −A option allows users to change the account that will be charged for the resources
consumed by the batch job. Support for the −A option is mandatory for conforming
implementations of qalter, even though support of accounting is optional for servers.
Whether or not to support accounting is left to the implementor of the server, but
mandatory support of the −A option assures users of a consistent interface and allows them
to control accounting on servers that support accounting.

The −c option allows users to alter the checkpointing interval of a batch job. A
checkpointing system, which is not defined by POSIX.1‐2008, allows recovery of a batch job
at the most recent checkpoint in the event of a crash. Checkpointing is typically used for
jobs that consume expensive computing time or must meet a critical schedule. Users should
be allowed to make the tradeoff between the overhead of checkpointing and the risk to the
timely completion of the batch job; therefore, this volume of POSIX.1‐2008 provides the
checkpointing interval option. Support for checkpointing is optional for servers.

The −e option allows users to alter the name and location of the standard error stream
written by a batch job. However, the path of the standard error stream is meaningless if
the value of the Join_Path attribute of the batch job is TRUE.

The −h option allows users to set the hold type in the Hold_Types attribute of a batch
job. The qhold and qrls utilities add or remove hold types to the Hold_Types attribute,
respectively. The −h option has been modified to allow for implementation-defined hold
types.

The −j option allows users to alter the decision to join (merge) the standard error stream
of the batch job with the standard output stream of the batch job.

The −l option allows users to change the resource limits imposed on a batch job.

The −m option allows users to modify the list of points in the life of a batch job at
which the designated users will receive mail notification.

The −M option allows users to alter the list of users who will receive notification about
events in the life of a batch job.

The −N option allows users to change the name of a batch job.

The −o option allows users to alter the name and path to which the standard output stream
of the batch job will be written.

The −P option allows users to modify the priority of a batch job. Support for priority is
optional for batch servers.

The −r option allows users to alter the rerunability status of a batch job.

The −S option allows users to change the name and location of the shell image that will be
invoked to interpret the script of the batch job. This option has been modified to allow a
list of shell name and locations associated with different hosts.

The −u option allows users to change the user identifier under which the batch job will
execute.

The job_identifier operand syntax is provided so that the user can differentiate between
the originating and destination (or executing) batch server. These may or may not be the
same. The .server_name portion identifies the originating batch server, while the @server
portion identifies the destination batch server.

Historically, the qalter utility has been a component of the Network Queuing System (NQS),
the existing practice from which this utility has been derived.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The qalter utility may be removed in a future version.

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