QALTER(P) POSIX Programmer's Manual QALTER(P)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.
NAMEqalter - alter batch job
SYNOPSISqalter [-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
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 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
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 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 repre‐
senting 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(P)
