OS/2 Shareware BBS: 11 Util/11-Util.zip/tasker1.zip/INSTALL/ESBATCH.INF

OS/2 Help File | 1994-03-18 | 52KB | 404 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Read-Me First ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

      This software is being made available as a beta version until June 30,
     1994. if you have any comments, suggestions, or problems, Please Call us
     at 219-833-4556 or 219-482-3179


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. License Agreement ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

       You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before
     using this software.  Use of this software indicates your acceptance of
     these terms and conditions.   You are hereby licensed to:  use the beta
     version of the software for a 45 day evaluation period, not to extend past
     June 30,1994; make as many copies of the beta version of this software and
     documentation as you wish; use the beta version of this software on as
     many computers as you would like.   You are specifically prohibited from
     charging, or requesting donations, for any copies, however made; and from
     distributing the software and/or documentation with other products
     (commercial or otherwise).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. Warranty Disclaimer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 Disclaimer  This software and the accompanying files are given "as is". The
user must assume the entire risk for using this software. In no event shall
Evolutionary Software Company, employees,its contractors or the authors of this
documentation be liable for special, direct, indirect or consequential damages,
loses,costs,charges,claims,demands or claim for lost profits,fees or expenses
of any nature or kind.  Warranty  EXCEPT AS RESTRICTED BY LAW, THE SOFTWARE
PROGRAMS CONTAINED IN THE FILE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Introduction ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     The Evolutionary Software Batch Management System allows you to control
     Mission critical jobs and repetitive task from with in the OS/2 Workplace
     shell. By utilizing the power of System Object Modules (SOM) and the OS/2
     Workplace shell The standard OS/2 Graphical Interface is used to create
     job proprieties, review logs, and verify execution of programs.

     Since the programs are user defined as WPS Objects you can execute OS/2,
     DOS, and Windows programs.  You can control program parameters like full
     screen, windowed, minimized and DOS Settings just like any OS/2 Object!

     Evolutionary software has added a page to the settings note book on a
     program object. The Page on the notebook Titled "Batch Time" has all the
     necessary settings to automatically start that particular object. If you
     are familiar with the OS/2 Workplace shell you will find the Evolutionary
     software approach extremely easy to use.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Installation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Performing the Installation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

      1. Place the installation diskette into a diskette drive (for example,
         Drive A).

      2. Open an OS/2 window (found in OS/2 System Command Prompts).

      3. Make the diskette drive the current drive by typing in the drive
         letter (for example A:) then press Enter.

      4. Then type in "ESINST"  and press Enter to start the install program.

      5. The install program will then display a screen with the source drive
         for the installation diskette set to the A drive. The target drive for
         transferring of the installation files set to the C drive. The target
         directory for the installation files has been set to BATCH. Change the
         the values if necessary to match your environment.

      6. Point to the Install button and Click.

      7. Follow any further instructions during the install program.

      8. After installation completes remove the installation diskette from the
         drive.

      9. Please reboot your computer.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Installation Details ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     This installation will perform the major functions listed below. This
     installation will require a reboot of your computer.

      1. The installation diskette will be copied to a target drive and
         directory selected by the installer.

      2. The LIBPATH,PATH,DPATH, and SET BOOKSHELF statements in the CONFIG.SYS
         will be updated to include the selected target drive and directory.
         The original CONFIG.SYS will be saved as CONFIG.ESI

      3. A new folder will be created on your OS/2 desktop containing the
         program objects in support of the Evolutionary Software Task Scheduler
         & Management System.

      4. A log file(batchlog.dat) will be created and initialized in the target
         directory.

      5. A registration folder will temporarily be created in your OS/2 startup
         folder. After re-booting your computer(per installation instructions)
         the registration of the Evolutionary Software Task Scheduler &
         Management system will complete. The registration will remove itself
         from the startup folder as this should only be needed once during the
         installation.

      6. A new object will be created in your templates folder. This new object
         named "Batch" will be what you use to drag to the desktop for each
         task to be scheduled.

     Note:  SET RESTARTOBJECTS=NO If this parameter is in your computers
     CONFIG.SYS, a warning message should have been issued by the install
     program. This is not an error, but the program object that was added to
     your startup folder will not execute after you reboot your computer.
     Therefore after you have re-booted your computer you must open the startup
     folder (found in OS/2 System) and point to the registration object and
     double-click. This will start the registration program and complete the
     installation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Getting Started ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     This section will run you through an example to create an object. The
     object we will create will be called fred. Fred will be scheduled to
     execute every 1 minute. After we have created fred, you will be able to go
     look into the log file and see when fred has run. So let's get started.

     In order to create fred we need to open your OS/2 templates folder. Find
     your OS/2 templates folder and double click on it. When the folder opens
     up, find the object that looks like the following. Point your mouse
     pointer at the object. Hold down your right mouse button and drag out a
     new batch object. A dialog notebook will appear that looks like the
     following.

     In the Path and file name field key in the path of where you installed the
     batch system An example would be "c:\batch\fred.cmd". Click on the Batch
     Time tab of the notebook.The following notebook will appear.

      Fill it out exactly as seen above. The start date and time field will get
     updated to a more current date the first time it scheduled to run. Close
     the window out after you have finished. You have created your first Batch
     Object.

     In order for the object to be scheduled an executed, You need to run the
     batch agent. Locate and Double click on the Batch Folder. Inside the Batch
     Folder you will find a program called Batch Agent. Double click on the
     Batch Agent. If you have setup fred correctly as soon as you double click
     on the Batch Agent fred should run. It will them run every 1 minute after
     that.

     After fred has run a couple of times, Let's check the log. Open up the
     batch folder and click on the program object titled view Log. There should
     be some entries in there titled batch. That is fred. If you wanted the
     entries to be titled something other than batch, Change the title of the
     object on the desktop. I hope this section helped you get started.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Creating New Objects ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.1. Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     This section will describe the basic steps necessary in creating a new
     task to be scheduled and executed. The headings in this section will be
     referenced and highlighted so you can click on those headings to get a
     more detailed explanation as you read through the overview.

     Each new Batch object starts in the templates folder. Simply drag out a
     Batch object from the templates folder as explained in Create The New
     Object. After the object has been put on the desktop, a notebook will
     appear. In the notebook are tabs with the setting information for each
     object that cause the object to automatically start. Settings for the
     batch time tab are explained in Modifying "Batch Time"  After the batch
     time tab has been filled out and the update button has been pressed. The
     object is ready to be started at the given times.

     After all the objects have been created The agent needs to be run in order
     for the objects to be automatically executed. It would be the suggestion
     of evolutionary software to create a shadow of the Batch Agent and put it
     in the startup folder.This will ensure the agent will be executed every
     time you start your computer. You can find out how to create a shadow by
     consulting your OS/2 Documentation. The batch agent icon looks like the
     following. More information on the Batch Agent can be found in  The agents
     Job.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.2. Create The New Object. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     In order to get a new Batch object from the templates folder, first you
     must locate the templates folder. The templates folder looks like the
     following. Once you locate the templates folder, open it by double
     clicking on it with the left mouse button. The templates folder will open
     up. locate the "Batch" template object In the templates folder . It will
     look like the following.  Position your cursor on the BATCH object
     template. Hold down your right mouse button and drag the new object out to
     an empty spot on your desktop. The first screen you will see is the
     setting page for the batch object. This setting page is exactly the same
     as a program object. In fact, the Batch object is exactly the same as
     program object with  the exception of a new tab that is added called
     "Batch Time".Consult your OS/2 documentation on how to set up a program
     object. An explanation of the "Batch Time" tab in the notebook is
     explained in Modifying "Batch Time"


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.3. Modifying "Batch Time". ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Click on the batch Time tab with the left mouse button In order to open the
time settings for that object. The batch time tab looks like the following.
After you click on that tab a page comes up in the book that looks like the
following.  Each letter from the above figure is explained in the following
list.

      A.) The start date and time box represents the next date and time the
     object will be executed.

      B.) The Repeat Every box represents how often you want the object to
     repeat. Put a number in the upper box. Put a quantity of time in the pull
     down list. Example would be "5 ,seconds". This object would then execute
     every five seconds. If you have the object Repeat interval set on none
     then it will only run once. However it will not delete the object. This
     could be useful for setting up objects that need to run at night but you
     don't know what day. When you find out what day schedule that object at
     that time you want it to run. The object will only run once again.

      C.) These check boxes represent exception days. If you never want this
     object to execute on a monday, put a check in the M box.

      D.) If you press the help button, You guessed it. You get this help
     facility.

      E.) The update button commits all changes made to the dialog box to the
     database. If you do not press the update button all the changes you have
     made in this dialog box are lost.

      F.) This is a list box full of exception days. If the object is scheduled
     to run on 2/20/95, but the list box has that day in it. The object will
     not run on that day.

      G.) This button deletes all exception days out of the list box that have
     been selected.

      H.) This button adds a date from the date entry field to the list box.

      I.) This Is the date entry field. If you type a date in this box and hit
     the add button. The date will move from this box to the date exception
     list box.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Logging Information In The Log File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     The log file consists of three fields.

      1. The Name Field
      2. The Start Date/Time Field
      3. The Action Field

     All actions that take place on batch objects are automatically logged into
     the log file. Currently there are 3 different types of actions

     The 3 action types are.

      1. Program Was executed.
      2. The Program Was Closed
      3. The Settings View was opened

      User defined actions and names.  However, there are times that the user
     may want to log information to the file saying that a particular job maybe
     half completed. For this reason we have provided 2 command line utilities.
     The 2 command Line utilities are.

      1. log.exe->OS/2 log program
      2. doslog.EXE->Dos log program

     Both Log.exe and doslog.exe have the same parameters. The first parameter
     is the name field. The name field can be no longer than 30 characters. The
     second parameter is the action field. The action field can be no longer
     than 150 characters.

     Here are 2 examples

      1. log "batch" "The return code was 5"
      2. doslog "DOS batch" "Batch file transfer completed "


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. The Agent's Job. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     The agents job is to check the database on a regular basis. The frequency
     that the agent checks the database is determined by spin button A. in the
     fig. The agent checks the database. If the object needs to be executed, it
     executes that object and then stores the next start interval in the object
     database. The object at close time  will update it's desktop title based
     on the next start time in the database. The Log button B. in the fig will
     execute the log viewing program. The help button D. in fig  will get you
     to this help facility. The last scan time is the last time the agent
     checked the database for batch objects to execute.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Modify An Existing Object. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.1. Modify All object Parameters ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     Every object's parameters can be changed. If you want to change an objects
     parameters, Move the cursor so that it points to the object. Click the
     right mouse button once and the following menu comes up.

     Click with the left mouse button on the arrow next to the word open in the
     menu. A second menu will pop up with the word settings. Click with the
     left mouse button on the word settings. The notebook associated with this
     object will come up. For further information on this notebook see
     Modifying "Batch Time" .


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2. Modifying Start Date/time ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     You can modify the start date time by changing the title of the object.
     Simply point the cursor at the object. Hold down the control key and press
     the left mouse button. You can now modify the title of the object. Simply
     stay within the format of yy/mm/dd,hh/mm/ss,title and the object database
     will get updated with the new date and time.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. View log file ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

     The Evolutionary Software Task Scheduler & Management System automatically
     records events associated with each task scheduled. This provides a
     historical log that may be used to track all scheduled tasks. The view
     utility has been provided to display all the events recorded in the log
     file. Filters may also be used to select only matching log entries. You
     may periodically want to make a copy of the current log file for
     historical purposes. You may also wish to clear the log file. The ability
     to copy and view those historical logs is provided within the utility. The
     Menu Bar contains the following options:

     File

     o Open -     This will select a different log file to report on.

     o Copy -     This will copy the current log file to another file.

     o Initialize -  This will create/clear and initialize the log file for
       processing.

     Filter

     o By Day   -  Select events logged for a specific day of the week.

     o By Month  -  Select events logged for a specific month.

     o By Date  -  Select events logged for a specific month and day.

     o By Name  -  Select events logged for a specific task name.

     o By Action -  Select events logged for a specific action.

     o Remove   -  Removes the filter and selects all events.

     Exit This will exit the program.

     Help This will initiate help.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden>  ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Settings view was opened meant that someone opened the settings page for
that object. This means that some of the objects settings could have been
changed. This will have a corresponding close.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden>  ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This means that the current open view closed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden>  ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This means that the object was actually executed. There will be a corresponding
close for this object.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden>  ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The name field contains the WorkPlace Shell title of the object. If you change
the title of the object. That title change will be reflected in the log file
the next time an action takes place on that object.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden>  ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The action field contains the WorkPlace Shell action That took place on the
object. There are a number of different Types of actions which are discussed
Later.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden>  ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Time field contains the time the WorkPlace Shell action took place on the
object. This time is automatically stored by the object and or the command line
log utilities.