1QALTER(1P) POSIX Programmer's Manual QALTER(1P)
2
6 This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux
7 implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding
8 Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may
9 not be implemented on Linux.
10
13 qalter — alter batch job
14
16 qalter [−a date_time] [−A account_string] [−c interval] [−e path_name]
17 [−h hold_list] [−j join_list] [−k keep_list] [−l resource_list]
18 [−m mail_options] [−M mail_list] [−N name] [−o path_name]
19 [−p priority] [−r y|n] [−S path_name_list] [−u user_list]
20 job_identifier...
21
23 The attributes of a batch job are altered by a request to the batch
24 server that manages the batch job. The qalter utility is a user-acces‐
25 sible batch client that requests the alteration of the attributes of
26 one or more batch jobs.
27 The qalter utility shall alter the attributes of those batch jobs, and
29 only those batch jobs, for which a batch job_identifier is presented to
30 the utility.
31 The qalter utility shall alter the attributes of batch jobs in the
33 order in which the batch job_identifiers are presented to the utility.
34 If the qalter utility fails to process a batch job_identifier success‐
36 fully, the utility shall proceed to process the remaining batch
37 job_identifiers, if any.
38 For each batch job_identifier for which the qalter utility succeeds,
40 each attribute of the identified batch job shall be altered as indi‐
41 cated by all the options presented to the utility.
42 For each identified batch job for which the qalter utility fails, the
44 utility shall not alter any attribute of the batch job.
45 For each batch job that the qalter utility processes, the utility shall
47 not modify any attribute other than those required by the options and
48 option-arguments presented to the utility.
49 The qalter utility shall alter batch jobs by sending a Modify Job
51 Request to the batch server that manages each batch job. At the time
52 the qalter utility exits, it shall have modified the batch job corre‐
53 sponding to each successfully processed batch job_identifier. An
54 attempt to alter the attributes of a batch job in the RUNNING state is
55 implementation-defined.
56
58 The qalter utility shall conform to the Base Definitions volume of
59 POSIX.1‐2008, Section 12.2, Utility Syntax Guidelines.
60 The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
62 −a date_time
64 Redefine the time at which the batch job becomes eligible for
65 execution.
66 The date_time argument shall be in the same form and repre‐
68 sent the same time as for the touch utility. The time so rep‐
69 resented shall be set into the Execution_Time attribute of
70 the batch job. If the time specified is earlier than the cur‐
71 rent time, the −a option shall have no effect.
72 −A account_string
74 Redefine the account to which the resource consumption of the
75 batch job should be charged.
76 The syntax of the account_string option-argument is unspeci‐
78 fied.
79 The qalter utility shall set the Account_Name attribute of
81 the batch job to the value of the account_string option-argu‐
82 ment.
83 −c interval
85 Redefine whether the batch job should be checkpointed, and if
86 so, how often.
87 The qalter utility shall accept a value for the interval
89 option-argument that is one of the following:
90 n No checkpointing is to be performed on the batch
92 job (NO_CHECKPOINT).
93 s Checkpointing is to be performed only when the
95 batch server is shut down (CHECKPOINT_AT_SHUTDOWN).
96 c Automatic periodic checkpointing is to be performed
98 at the Minimum_Cpu_Interval attribute of the batch
99 queue, in units of CPU minutes (CHECK‐
100 POINT_AT_MIN_CPU_INTERVAL).
101 c=minutes Automatic periodic checkpointing is to be performed
103 every minutes of CPU time, or every Mini‐
104 mum_Cpu_Interval minutes, whichever is greater. The
105 minutes argument shall conform to the syntax for
106 unsigned integers and shall be greater than zero.
107 An implementation may define other checkpoint intervals. The
109 conformance document for an implementation shall describe any
110 alternative checkpoint intervals, how they are specified,
111 their internal behavior, and how they affect the behavior of
112 the utility.
113 The qalter utility shall set the Checkpoint attribute of the
115 batch job to the value of the interval option-argument.
116 −e path_name
118 Redefine the path to be used for the standard error stream of
119 the batch job.
120 The qalter utility shall accept a path_name option-argument
122 that conforms to the syntax of the path_name element defined
123 in the System Interfaces volume of POSIX.1‐2008, which can be
124 preceded by a host name element of the form hostname:.
125 If the path_name option-argument constitutes an absolute
127 pathname, the qalter utility shall set the Error_Path
128 attribute of the batch job to the value of the path_name
129 option-argument, including the host name element, if present.
130 If the path_name option-argument constitutes a relative path‐
132 name and no host name element is specified, the qalter util‐
133 ity shall set the Error_Path attribute of the batch job to
134 the value of the absolute pathname derived by expanding the
135 path_name option-argument relative to the current directory
136 of the process that executes the qalter utility.
137 If the path_name option-argument constitutes a relative path‐
139 name and a host name element is specified, the qalter utility
140 shall set the Error_Path attribute of the batch job to the
141 value of the option-argument without expansion.
142 If the path_name option-argument does not include a host name
144 element, the qalter utility shall prefix the pathname in the
145 Error_Path attribute with hostname:, where hostname is the
146 name of the host upon which the qalter utility is being exe‐
147 cuted.
148 −h hold_list
150 Redefine the types of holds, if any, on the batch job. The
151 qalter −h option shall accept a value for the hold_list
152 option-argument that is a string of alphanumeric characters
153 in the portable character set.
154 The qalter utility shall accept a value for the hold_list
156 option-argument that is a string of one or more of the char‐
157 acters 'u', 's', or 'o', or the single character 'n'. For
158 each unique character in the hold_list option-argument, the
159 qalter utility shall add a value to the Hold_Types attribute
160 of the batch job as follows, each representing a different
161 hold type:
162 u USER
164 s SYSTEM
166 o OPERATOR
168 If any of these characters are duplicated in the hold_list
170 option-argument, the duplicates shall be ignored. An existing
171 Hold_Types attribute can be cleared by the hold type:
172 n NO_HOLD
174 The qalter utility shall consider it an error if any hold
176 type other than 'n' is combined with hold type 'n'. Strictly
177 conforming applications shall not repeat any of the charac‐
178 ters 'u', 's', 'o', or 'n' within the hold_list option-argu‐
179 ment. The qalter utility shall permit the repetition of char‐
180 acters, but shall not assign additional meaning to the
181 repeated characters. An implementation may define other hold
182 types. The conformance document for an implementation shall
183 describe any additional hold types, how they are specified,
184 their internal behavior, and how they affect the behavior of
185 the utility.
186 −j join_list
188 Redefine which streams of the batch job are to be merged. The
189 qalter −j option shall accept a value for the join_list
190 option-argument that is a string of alphanumeric characters
191 in the portable character set.
192 The qalter utility shall accept a join_list option-argument
194 that consists of one or more of the characters 'e' and 'o',
195 or the single character 'n'.
196 All of the other batch job output streams specified shall be
198 merged into the output stream represented by the character
199 listed first in the join_list option-argument.
200 For each unique character in the join_list option-argument,
202 the qalter utility shall add a value to the Join_Path
203 attribute of the batch job as follows, each representing a
204 different batch job stream to join:
205 e The standard error of the batch job (JOIN_STD_ERROR).
207 o The standard output of the batch job (JOIN_STD_OUTPUT).
209 An existing Join_Path attribute can be cleared by the join
211 type:
212 n NO_JOIN
214 If 'n' is specified, then no files are joined. The qalter
216 utility shall consider it an error if any join type other
217 than 'n' is combined with join type 'n'.
218 Strictly conforming applications shall not repeat any of the
220 characters 'e', 'o', or 'n' within the join_list option-argu‐
221 ment. The qalter utility shall permit the repetition of char‐
222 acters, but shall not assign additional meaning to the
223 repeated characters.
224 An implementation may define other join types. The confor‐
226 mance document for an implementation shall describe any addi‐
227 tional batch job streams, how they are specified, their
228 internal behavior, and how they affect the behavior of the
229 utility.
230 −k keep_list
232 Redefine which output of the batch job to retain on the exe‐
233 cution host.
234 The qalter −k option shall accept a value for the keep_list
236 option-argument that is a string of alphanumeric characters
237 in the portable character set.
238 The qalter utility shall accept a keep_list option-argument
240 that consists of one or more of the characters 'e' and 'o',
241 or the single character 'n'.
242 For each unique character in the keep_list option-argument,
244 the qalter utility shall add a value to the Keep_Files
245 attribute of the batch job as follows, each representing a
246 different batch job stream to keep:
247 e The standard error of the batch job (KEEP_STD_ERROR).
249 o The standard output of the batch job (KEEP_STD_OUTPUT).
251 If both 'e' and 'o' are specified, then both files are
253 retained. An existing Keep_Files attribute can be cleared by
254 the keep type:
255 n NO_KEEP
257 If 'n' is specified, then no files are retained. The qalter
259 utility shall consider it an error if any keep type other
260 than 'n' is combined with keep type 'n'.
261 Strictly conforming applications shall not repeat any of the
263 characters 'e', 'o', or 'n' within the keep_list option-argu‐
264 ment. The qalter utility shall permit the repetition of char‐
265 acters, but shall not assign additional meaning to the
266 repeated characters. An implementation may define other keep
267 types. The conformance document for an implementation shall
268 describe any additional keep types, how they are specified,
269 their internal behavior, and how they affect the behavior of
270 the utility.
271 −l resource_list
273 Redefine the resources that are allowed or required by the
274 batch job.
275 The qalter utility shall accept a resource_list option-argu‐
277 ment that conforms to the following syntax:
278 resource=value[,,resource=value,,...]
280 The qalter utility shall set one entry in the value of the
282 Resource_List attribute of the batch job for each resource
283 listed in the resource_list option-argument.
284 Because the list of supported resource names might vary by
286 batch server, the qalter utility shall rely on the batch
287 server to validate the resource names and associated values.
288 See Section 3.3.3, Multiple Keyword-Value Pairs for a means
289 of removing keyword=value (and value@keyword) pairs and other
290 general rules for list-oriented batch job attributes.
291 −m mail_options
293 Redefine the points in the execution of the batch job at
294 which the batch server is to send mail about a change in the
295 state of the batch job.
296 The qalter −m option shall accept a value for the
298 mail_options option-argument that is a string of alphanumeric
299 characters in the portable character set.
300 The qalter utility shall accept a value for the mail_options
302 option-argument that is a string of one or more of the char‐
303 acters 'e', 'b', and 'a', or the single character 'n'. For
304 each unique character in the mail_options option-argument,
305 the qalter utility shall add a value to the Mail_Users
306 attribute of the batch job as follows, each representing a
307 different time during the life of a batch job at which to
308 send mail:
309 e MAIL_AT_EXIT
311 b MAIL_AT_BEGINNING
313 a MAIL_AT_ABORT
315 If any of these characters are duplicated in the mail_options
317 option-argument, the duplicates shall be ignored.
318 An existing Mail_Points attribute can be cleared by the mail
320 type:
321 n NO_MAIL
323 If 'n' is specified, then mail is not sent. The qalter util‐
325 ity shall consider it an error if any mail type other than
326 'n' is combined with mail type 'n'. Strictly conforming
327 applications shall not repeat any of the characters 'e', 'b',
328 'a', or 'n' within the mail_options option-argument. The qal‐
329 ter utility shall permit the repetition of characters but
330 shall not assign additional meaning to the repeated charac‐
331 ters.
332 An implementation may define other mail types. The confor‐
334 mance document for an implementation shall describe any addi‐
335 tional mail types, how they are specified, their internal
336 behavior, and how they affect the behavior of the utility.
337 −M mail_list
339 Redefine the list of users to which the batch server that
340 executes the batch job is to send mail, if the batch server
341 sends mail about the batch job.
342 The syntax of the mail_list option-argument is unspecified.
344 If the implementation of the qalter utility uses a name ser‐
345 vice to locate users, the utility shall accept the syntax
346 used by the name service.
347 If the implementation of the qalter utility does not use a
349 name service to locate users, the implementation shall accept
350 the following syntax for user names:
351 mail_address[,,mail_address,,...]
353 The interpretation of mail_address is implementation-defined.
355 The qalter utility shall set the Mail_Users attribute of the
357 batch job to the value of the mail_list option-argument.
358 −N name Redefine the name of the batch job.
360 The qalter −N option shall accept a value for the name
362 option-argument that is a string of up to 15 alphanumeric
363 characters in the portable character set where the first
364 character is alphabetic.
365 The syntax of the name option-argument is unspecified.
367 The qalter utility shall set the Job_Name attribute of the
369 batch job to the value of the name option-argument.
370 −o path_name
372 Redefine the path for the standard output of the batch job.
373 The qalter utility shall accept a path_name option-argument
375 that conforms to the syntax of the path_name element defined
376 in the System Interfaces volume of POSIX.1‐2008, which can be
377 preceded by a host name element of the form hostname:.
378 If the path_name option-argument constitutes an absolute
380 pathname, the qalter utility shall set the Output_Path
381 attribute of the batch job to the value of the path_name
382 option-argument.
383 If the path_name option-argument constitutes a relative path‐
385 name and no host name element is specified, the qalter util‐
386 ity shall set the Output_Path attribute of the batch job to
387 the absolute pathname derived by expanding the path_name
388 option-argument relative to the current directory of the
389 process that executes the qalter utility.
390 If the path_name option-argument constitutes a relative path‐
392 name and a host name element is specified, the qalter utility
393 shall set the Output_Path attribute of the batch job to the
394 value of the path_name option-argument without any expansion
395 of the pathname.
396 If the path_name option-argument does not include a host name
398 element, the qalter utility shall prefix the pathname in the
399 Output_Path attribute with hostname:, where hostname is the
400 name of the host upon which the qalter utility is being exe‐
401 cuted.
402 −p priority
404 Redefine the priority of the batch job.
405 The qalter utility shall accept a value for the priority
407 option-argument that conforms to the syntax for signed deci‐
408 mal integers, and which is not less than −1024 and not
409 greater than 1023.
410 The qalter utility shall set the Priority attribute of the
412 batch job to the value of the priority option-argument.
413 −r y|n Redefine whether the batch job is rerunnable.
415 If the value of the option-argument is 'y', the qalter util‐
417 ity shall set the Rerunable attribute of the batch job to
418 TRUE.
419 If the value of the option-argument is 'n', the qalter util‐
421 ity shall set the Rerunable attribute of the batch job to
422 FALSE.
423 The qalter utility shall consider it an error if any charac‐
425 ter other than 'y' or 'n' is specified in the option-argu‐
426 ment.
427 −S path_name_list
429 Redefine the shell that interprets the script at the destina‐
430 tion system.
431 The qalter utility shall accept a path_name_list option-argu‐
433 ment that conforms to the following syntax:
434 pathname[@host][,pathname[@host],...]
436 The qalter utility shall accept only one pathname that is
438 missing a corresponding host name. The qalter utility shall
439 allow only one pathname per named host.
440 The qalter utility shall add a value to the Shell_Path_List
442 attribute of the batch job for each entry in the
443 path_name_list option-argument. See Section 3.3.3, Multiple
444 Keyword-Value Pairs for a means of removing keyword=value
445 (and value@keyword) pairs and other general rules for list-
446 oriented batch job attributes.
447 −u user_list
449 Redefine the user name under which the batch job is to run at
450 the destination system.
451 The qalter utility shall accept a user_list option-argument
453 that conforms to the following syntax:
454 username[@host][,,username[@host],,...]
456 The qalter utility shall accept only one user name that is
458 missing a corresponding host name. The qalter utility shall
459 accept only one user name per named host.
460 The qalter utility shall add a value to the User_List
462 attribute of the batch job for each entry in the user_list
463 option-argument. See Section 3.3.3, Multiple Keyword-Value
464 Pairs for a means of removing keyword=value (and value@key‐
465 word) pairs and other general rules for list-oriented batch
466 job attributes.
467
469 The qalter utility shall accept one or more operands that conform to
470 the syntax for a batch job_identifier (see Section 3.3.1, Batch Job
471 Identifier).
472
474 Not used.
475
477 None.
478
480 The following environment variables shall affect the execution of qal‐
481 ter:
482 LANG Provide a default value for the internationalization vari‐
484 ables that are unset or null. (See the Base Definitions vol‐
485 ume of POSIX.1‐2008, Section 8.2, Internationalization Vari‐
486 ables the precedence of internationalization variables used
487 to determine the values of locale categories.)
488 LC_ALL If set to a non-empty string value, override the values of
490 all the other internationalization variables.
491 LC_CTYPE Determine the locale for the interpretation of sequences of
493 bytes of text data as characters (for example, single-byte as
494 opposed to multi-byte characters in arguments).
495 LC_MESSAGES
497 Determine the locale that should be used to affect the format
498 and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard
499 error.
500 LOGNAME Determine the login name of the user.
502 TZ Determine the timezone used to interpret the date-time
504 option-argument. If TZ is unset or null, an unspecified
505 default timezone shall be used.
506
508 Default.
509
511 None.
512
514 The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.
515
517 None.
518
520 None.
521
523 The following exit values shall be returned:
524 0 Successful completion.
526 >0 An error occurred.
528
530 In addition to the default behavior, the qalter utility shall not be
531 required to write a diagnostic message to standard error when the error
532 reply received from a batch server indicates that the batch job_identi‐
533 fier does not exist on the server. Whether or not the qalter utility
534 attempts to locate the batch job on other batch servers is implementa‐
535 tion-defined.
536 The following sections are informative.
538
540 None.
541
543 None.
544
546 The qalter utility allows users to change the attributes of a batch
547 job.
548 As a means of altering a queued job, the qalter utility is superior to
550 deleting and requeuing the batch job insofar as an altered job retains
551 its place in the queue with some traditional selection algorithms. In
552 addition, the qalter utility is both shorter and simpler than a
553 sequence of qdel and qsub utilities.
554 The result of an attempt on the part of a user to alter a batch job in
556 a RUNNING state is implementation-defined because a batch job in the
557 RUNNING state will already have opened its output files and otherwise
558 performed any actions indicated by the options in effect at the time
559 the batch job began execution.
560 The options processed by the qalter utility are identical to those of
562 the qsub utility, with a few exceptions: −V, −v, and −q. The −V and −v
563 are inappropriate for the qalter utility, since they capture poten‐
564 tially transient environment information from the submitting process.
565 The −q option would specify a new queue, which would largely negate the
566 previously stated advantage of using qalter; furthermore, the qmove
567 utility provides a superior means of moving jobs.
568 Each of the following paragraphs provides the rationale for a qalter
570 option.
571 Additional rationale concerning these options can be found in the
573 rationale for the qsub utility.
574 The −a option allows users to alter the date and time at which a batch
576 job becomes eligible to run.
577 The −A option allows users to change the account that will be charged
579 for the resources consumed by the batch job. Support for the −A option
580 is mandatory for conforming implementations of qalter, even though sup‐
581 port of accounting is optional for servers. Whether or not to support
582 accounting is left to the implementor of the server, but mandatory sup‐
583 port of the −A option assures users of a consistent interface and
584 allows them to control accounting on servers that support accounting.
585 The −c option allows users to alter the checkpointing interval of a
587 batch job. A checkpointing system, which is not defined by
588 POSIX.1‐2008, allows recovery of a batch job at the most recent check‐
589 point in the event of a crash. Checkpointing is typically used for jobs
590 that consume expensive computing time or must meet a critical schedule.
591 Users should be allowed to make the tradeoff between the overhead of
592 checkpointing and the risk to the timely completion of the batch job;
593 therefore, this volume of POSIX.1‐2008 provides the checkpointing
594 interval option. Support for checkpointing is optional for servers.
595 The −e option allows users to alter the name and location of the stan‐
597 dard error stream written by a batch job. However, the path of the
598 standard error stream is meaningless if the value of the Join_Path
599 attribute of the batch job is TRUE.
600 The −h option allows users to set the hold type in the Hold_Types
602 attribute of a batch job. The qhold and qrls utilities add or remove
603 hold types to the Hold_Types attribute, respectively. The −h option has
604 been modified to allow for implementation-defined hold types.
605 The −j option allows users to alter the decision to join (merge) the
607 standard error stream of the batch job with the standard output stream
608 of the batch job.
609 The −l option allows users to change the resource limits imposed on a
611 batch job.
612 The −m option allows users to modify the list of points in the life of
614 a batch job at which the designated users will receive mail notifica‐
615 tion.
616 The −M option allows users to alter the list of users who will receive
618 notification about events in the life of a batch job.
619 The −N option allows users to change the name of a batch job.
621 The −o option allows users to alter the name and path to which the
623 standard output stream of the batch job will be written.
624 The −P option allows users to modify the priority of a batch job. Sup‐
626 port for priority is optional for batch servers.
627 The −r option allows users to alter the rerunability status of a batch
629 job.
630 The −S option allows users to change the name and location of the shell
632 image that will be invoked to interpret the script of the batch job.
633 This option has been modified to allow a list of shell name and loca‐
634 tions associated with different hosts.
635 The −u option allows users to change the user identifier under which
637 the batch job will execute.
638 The job_identifier operand syntax is provided so that the user can dif‐
640 ferentiate between the originating and destination (or executing) batch
641 server. These may or may not be the same. The .server_name portion
642 identifies the originating batch server, while the @server portion
643 identifies the destination batch server.
644 Historically, the qalter utility has been a component of the Network
646 Queuing System (NQS), the existing practice from which this utility has
647 been derived.
648
650 The qalter utility may be removed in a future version.
651
653 Chapter 3, Batch Environment Services, qdel, qhold, qmove, qrls, qsub,
654 touch
655 The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2008, Chapter 8, Environment
657 Variables, Section 12.2, Utility Syntax Guidelines
658
660 Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
661 from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
662 -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
663 Specifications Issue 7, Copyright (C) 2013 by the Institute of Electri‐
664 cal and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. (This is
665 POSIX.1-2008 with the 2013 Technical Corrigendum 1 applied.) In the
666 event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and
667 The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard
668 is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online
669 at http://www.unix.org/online.html .
670 Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are
672 most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source
673 files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.ker‐
674 nel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .
675IEEE/The Open Group 2013 QALTER(1P)