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QALTER(1P)                 POSIX Programmer's Manual                QALTER(1P)

PROLOG
       This  manual  page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux
       implementation of this interface may differ (consult the  corresponding
       Linux  manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may
       not be implemented on Linux.
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-acces-
       sible 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  success-
       fully,  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 indi-
       cated 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 corre-
       sponding  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
       IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, 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  speci-
       fied  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-argu-
       ment that is one of the following:
       n
              No checkpointing is to be performed on the batch job  (NO_CHECK-
              POINT).
       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 Mini-
              mum_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  min-
              utes  of CPU time, or every Minimum_Cpu_Interval minutes, which-
              ever is greater. The minutes argument shall conform to the  syn-
              tax for unsigned integers and shall be greater than zero.

       An  implementation  may  define other checkpoint intervals. The confor-
       mance 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  con-
       forms  to  the  syntax  of  the path_name element defined in the System
       Interfaces volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, 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-argu-
       ment 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  qal-
              ter  -h  option  shall  accept a value for the hold_list option-
              argument that is a string of alphanumeric characters in the por-
              table character set.
       The  qalter utility shall accept a value for the hold_list option-argu-
       ment 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-argu-
       ment, 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 applica-
       tions 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 por-
              table character set.
       The  qalter  utility shall accept a join_list option-argument that con-
       sists of one or more of the characters 'e' and 'o', or the single char-
       acter '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 util-
       ity  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 execu-
              tion 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  con-
       sists of one or more of the characters 'e' and 'o', or the single char-
       acter '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 util-
       ity  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 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 exe-
              cutes 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 con-
       forms to the syntax of the path_name  element  defined  in  the  System
       Interfaces  volume  of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, 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 Out-
       put_Path attribute of the batch job to the absolute pathname derived by
       expanding  the path_name option-argument relative to the current direc-
       tory 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 Out-
       put_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-argu-
       ment 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 path-
       name 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 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 con-
       forms 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 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 Batch Job Identifier ).
STDIN
       Not used.
INPUT FILES
       None.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       The  following environment variables shall affect the execution of qal-
       ter:
       LANG   Provide a default value for the  internationalization  variables
              that  are  unset  or  null.  (See the Base Definitions volume of
              IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, Section  8.2,  Internationalization  Vari-
              ables  for 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 time-
              zone 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_identi-
       fier  does  not  exist on the server. Whether or not the qalter utility
       attempts to locate the batch job on other batch servers is  implementa-
       tion-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  poten-
       tially  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 sup-
       port of accounting is optional for servers. Whether or not  to  support
       accounting is left to the implementor of the server, but mandatory sup-
       port 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
       IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, 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 IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 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  stan-
       dard  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  notifica-
       tion.
       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. Sup-
       port 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 loca-
       tions 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 dif-
       ferentiate 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
       None.
SEE ALSO
       Batch Environment Services, qdel, qhold, qmove, qrls, qsub, touch
COPYRIGHT
       Portions  of  this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
       from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
       --  Portable  Operating  System  Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
       Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003  by  the  Institute  of
       Electrical  and  Electronics  Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the
       event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and
       The  Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard
       is the referee document. The original Standard can be  obtained  online
       at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

IEEE/The Open Group                  2003                           QALTER(1P)