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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-
       accessible  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
       successfully,  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
       indicated 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
       corresponding 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
       specified 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-
       argument that is one of the following:

       n
              No  checkpointing  is  to  be  performed  on   the   batch   job
              (NO_CHECKPOINT).

       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
              Minimum_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
              minutes  of  CPU  time,  or  every Minimum_Cpu_Interval minutes,
              whichever is greater. The minutes argument shall conform to  the
              syntax for unsigned integers and shall be greater than zero.

       An   implementation   may   define   other  checkpoint  intervals.  The
       conformance  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
       conforms  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-
       argument 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
              qalter -h option shall accept a value for the hold_list  option-
              argument  that  is  a  string  of alphanumeric characters in the
              portable character set.

       The qalter utility shall accept  a  value  for  the  hold_list  option-
       argument  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-
       argument, 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
       applications  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
              portable character set.

       The qalter  utility  shall  accept  a  join_list  option-argument  that
       consists  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
              execution 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
       consists 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
       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
              executes  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
       conforms  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
       Output_Path attribute of the batch job to 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
       Output_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-
       argument 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
       pathname 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
       conforms 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
       qalter:

       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
              Variables 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
              timezone 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_identifier does not exist on the server. Whether or not the  qalter
       utility  attempts  to  locate  the  batch job on other batch servers is
       implementation-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
       potentially  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
       support  of  accounting  is  optional  for  servers.  Whether or not to
       support accounting is left  to  the  implementor  of  the  server,  but
       mandatory  support  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
       standard  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
       notification.

       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.
       Support 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
       locations 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
       differentiate 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 .