03/17/88 enter_abs_request, ear Syntax as a command: ear path {-control_args} Function: allows you to request the creation of an absentee process, which you can delay until a specified time. An absentee process executes commands from a segment and places the output in another segment. Arguments: path specifies the pathname of the absentee control segment associated with this request. The absin suffix is assumed. If a pathname is given, it identifies the absin segment. If only an entryname is given, the absin segment is located using the exec_com search list. Control arguments: -arguments STRs, -argument STRs, -ag STRs indicates that the absentee control segment requires arguments. STR can be one or more arguments. All arguments following -ag are taken as arguments to the absentee control segment; therefore put -ag last in the command line. -authorization STR, -auth STR sets the authorization of the process to that specified by STR. STR is a character string composed of level and category names for the desired authorization, separated by commas. STR cannot contain any embedded blank or tab characters. (The short names for each level and category always contain no blanks or tabs, and can be used whenever the corresponding long names contain blanks or tabs.) STR must represent an authorization that is within the range of minimum and maximum authorization of Person_id on the Project_id. If -authorization is omitted, your current login authorization is used. (See the Programmer's Reference Manual for more information about process authorizations.) Allowed authorization range can be displayed via the "user auth_range" command. -brief, -bf suppresses the message "ID: HHMMSS.f; N already requested." -comment STR, -com STR associates a comment with the request. If STR contains blanks or other command language characters, enclose it in quotes. The comment is printed whenever you or the operator lists the request. It indicates to the operator the time or circumstances when a deferred job should be released, such as when a specified reel of tape is delivered to the computer room. -defer_indefinitely, -dfi does not run the absentee process until the operator starts it. -extend append output of the absentee process to the absout file (default). Provided to override the -truncate argument. -foreground, -fg places the request in the foreground queue, rather than in one of the numbered background queues. For load control and charging purposes, jobs in the foreground queue are treated as interactive logins; that is, a foreground job is logged in as if you would have logged in interactively, and, while logged in, it occupies a primary slot in your load control group. (See -secondary.) -home_dir path, -hd path sets the home directory of the absentee process to the path specified, if the project administrator allows such changes. The "user attributes" command displays allowed attributes. The vhomedir attribute is required to use the -home_dir control argument. The specified home dir cannot exceed 64 characters and must be specified as an absolute pathname. -limit N, -li N places a limit on the CPU time used by the absentee process. The parameter N must be a positive decimal integer specifying the limit in seconds. The default limit is defined by the site for each queue. An upper limit is defined by the site for each queue on each shift. Jobs with limits exceeding the upper limit for the current shift are deferred to a shift with a higher limit. -long_id, -lgid prints the long form of the request identifier in the normal message: ID: yymmddHHMMSS.ffffff; N already requested -no_start_up, -ns instructs the standard process overseer not to execute the start_up.ec segment in the absentee process, if the project administrator allows it. The "user attributes" command displays allowed attributes. The nostartup attribute is required to use this control argument. -notify, -nt notifies you (by an interactive message sent to your mailbox) when the job is logged in, when it is logged out, or when it is deferred for any reason other than your request. The latter might occur because of the unavailability of resources or a time limit higher than the maximum for the shift. -output_file path, -of path specifies the pathname of the output segment (see "Notes" below). -process_overseer path, -po path sets the process overseer for the absentee process to the procedure given by path if the project administrator allows this. If path ends in the characters ",direct", the specified procedure is called directly during process initialization rather than by the standard system-provided procedure. This means that the program used by path must perform the tasks that would have been performed by the standard procedure. The length of the process_overseer path should not exceed 64 characters. The "user attributes" command displays allowed attributes. The vinitproc attribute is required to use this control argument. -proxy User_id enters the request on behalf of the specified user. An absentee process of that User_id is logged in to run the job. The system administrator controls the use of -proxy by an access control segment. See Notes for details. -queue N, -q N specifies that absentee queue N should contain the request to be entered, where N is an integer specifying the number of the queue. The default queue is designated by the site administrator. There are four background queues, with queue 1 having the highest priority. The highest numbered queue processed on each shift is determined by the site. For convenience in writing exec_coms and abbreviations, the word "foreground" (fg) following -queue performs the same function as -foreground. -resource STR, -rsc STR specifies resources given in STR (e.g., one or more tape drives); don't start them until they are available. These resources are also reserved for the absentee job before it is logged in. Resource reservation (via the reserve_resource command) need not be done in the absin segment. Enclose the resource description in quotes if it contains blanks or other command language characters. -restart, -rt starts over the computation of this request from the beginning if interrupted (for example, by a system crash). (Default: not to restart the computation) -ring N, -rg N sets the initial ring to N if this ring number is within the range of the registered minimum ring and maximum ring. This range may be displayed via the "user ring_range" command. -secondary logs in a foreground job as a secondary user (subject to preemption) if there are no primary slots available in your load control group. By default a foreground job is only logged in if a primary process can be created for you. -sender STR enters requests only from sender STR. In most cases the sender is an RJE station identifier. -start_up instructs the standard process overseer to execute the start_up.ec segment if it exists. (Default). -time DT, -tm DT delays the creation of the absentee process until a specified date-time, where DT must be a character string acceptable to convert_date_to_binary_ (see the Subroutines manual). If DT contains blanks, enclose it in quotes. -truncate, -tc truncate the absout file, so that the absentee process will begin writing at the beginning of the absout file. See Notes. Notes: If you don't supply the pathname of the output segment, the output of the absentee process is directed to a segment whose pathname is the same as the absentee control segment, having a suffix of absout instead of absin. If you omit the absout suffix from the output segment pathname, the suffix is assumed. The named output segment may or may not already exist. If the absout segment exists, the absentee user (Person_id.Project_id.m or, in the case of a proxy request, Person_id.Project_id.p) must have w access to the segment. If the absout segment does not exist, the absentee user requires append permission to the directory in which it is to be created. The command checks for the existence of the absentee input segment and rejects a request for an absentee process if it is not present. The effect of specifying -time is as if enter_abs_request were issued at the deferred time. Be aware of differing time zones when deferring absentee jobs. If there is a possibility of overlapping times (i.e., when est changes to edt, etc.), specify the time zone in the value given for -time. If an absentee job cannot be run or if it terminates abnormally, the system sends an interactive user message to your mailbox, whether or not you give -notify. All input and output that occurs in the absentee job is written to the segment STR.absout in the same directory as the absentee segment STR.absin. This absout segment has its safety switch turned on temporarily while the job is running, since deleting the absout segment crashes the absentee job. To make sure that the absout is printed after absentee logout, even if it does not reach completion, put the following command line near the beginning of the absin file: eor -dupt [user absout] where "-dupt" is short for -defer_until_process_termination. To delete the absout when done, make the following the last line in the absin file: dl [user absout] -force; logout -brief The logout command prevents an abnormal termination trying to write another line to the deleted absout file. An alternative to deleting the absout is to rename it so as to keep only the latest copy: answer yes -brief rename [user absout] ===.old This command line, which can appear anywhere in the absin file, forces deletion of any previous .old copy and saves the current absout with suffix .old for later examination. To delete the absin when completed, make the following the last line in the absin file: dl [user absin]; logout The logout command prevents an abnormal termination trying to read another line from the deleted absin file. The -truncate argument causes the absout file to be truncated at the time the absentee job is starting to run, but if the job is being restarted because of a system crash interruption, the truncation will not be performed. When -proxy is given, no attempt is made by ear to validate attribute dependent control arguments. Since the job is submitted on behalf of another user, the attributes for the proxy user will be validated only by the answering service when it attempts to run the job. Attribute dependent control arguments are: -no_start_up -home_dir -authorization -process_overseer -ring See also list_abs_requests and cancel_abs_request. ----------------------------------------------------------- Historical Background This edition of the Multics software materials and documentation is provided and donated to Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Group BULL including BULL HN Information Systems Inc. as a contribution to computer science knowledge. This donation is made also to give evidence of the common contributions of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bell Laboratories, General Electric, Honeywell Information Systems Inc., Honeywell BULL Inc., Groupe BULL and BULL HN Information Systems Inc. to the development of this operating system. Multics development was initiated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Project MAC (1963-1970), renamed the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence in the mid 1970s, under the leadership of Professor Fernando Jose Corbato. Users consider that Multics provided the best software architecture for managing computer hardware properly and for executing programs. Many subsequent operating systems incorporated Multics principles. Multics was distributed in 1975 to 2000 by Group Bull in Europe , and in the U.S. by Bull HN Information Systems Inc., as successor in interest by change in name only to Honeywell Bull Inc. and Honeywell Information Systems Inc. . ----------------------------------------------------------- Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute these programs and their documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted,provided that the below copyright notice and historical background appear in all copies and that both the copyright notice and historical background and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the names of MIT, HIS, BULL or BULL HN not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the programs without specific prior written permission. Copyright 1972 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Honeywell Information Systems Inc. Copyright 2006 by BULL HN Information Systems Inc. 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