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Hitachi Vantara Lumada and Pentaho Documentation

Job (job entry)

Parent article

The Job job entry executes a previously defined job, which allows you to perform functional decomposition: a break out of jobs into more manageable units.

For example, instead of writing a data warehouse load using one job which contains 500 entries, you could create smaller jobs and aggregate them.

CautionAlthough it is possible to create a recursive, never-ending job that points to itself, you should be aware that such a job will eventually fail with an out of memory or stack error.

General

Enter the following information in the job entry fields.

FieldDescription
Entry NameThe unique name of the job entry on the canvas. A job entry can be placed on the canvas several times; however, it will be the same job entry.
Job

Specify your job by entering in its path or clicking Browse.

If you select a job that has the same root path as the current job, the variable ${Internal.Entry.Current.Directory} will automatically be inserted in place of the common root path. For example, if the current job's path is /home/admin/transformation.kjb and you select a job in the folder /home/admin/path/sub.kjb then the path will automatically be converted to ${Internal.Entry.Current.Directory}/path/sub.kjb.

If you are working with a repository, specify the name of the job. If you are not working with a repository, specify the XML file name of the job.

NoteJobs previously specified by reference are automatically converted to be specified by the job name within the Pentaho Repository.

Options

The Job job entry features several tabs with fields. Each tab is described below.

Options tab

Options tab, Job (job entry)

This tab includes the following fields:

OptionDescription
Run ConfigurationThe job can run in different types of configurations. You can run the transformation locally, on the Pentaho Server, or on a slave (remote) server. To set up run configurations, see Run configurations .
Execute every input rowRuns the job once for every input row (looping).
Pass the sub jobs and transformations to the serverIf you choose a server-based Run Configuration, select to pass the complete job (including referenced sub-jobs and sub-transformations) to the remote server.
Enable monitoring for sub jobs and transformationsIf you choose a server-based Run Configuration, select to monitor the child jobs and transformations when the job runs.
Wait for remote job to finishIf you choose a server-based Run Configuration, select to block the job until the job runs on the server.
Follow local abort to remote jobIf you choose a server-based Run Configuration, select to send the abort signal remotely.

Logging tab

By default, if you do not set logging, PDI will take the generated log entries and create a log record inside of the job. For example, suppose a job has three transformations to run and you have not set logging. The transformations will not log information to other files, locations, or special configurations. In this instance, the job executes and logs information into its master job log.

In most instances, it is acceptable for logging information to be available in the job log. For example, if you have load dimensions, you would want logs for your load dimension runs to display in the job logs. If there are errors in the transformations, they will display in the job logs. However, you want all your log information kept in one place, you must set up logging.

Logging tab, Job (job entry)

This tab includes the following fields:

OptionDescription
Specify logfileSpecifies a separate log file for running this job.
NameThe directory and base name of the log file, for example, C:\logs.
ExtensionThe file name extension, for example, .log or .txt.
Log levelSpecifies the logging level for running the job. See Logging levels for more details.
Append logfile?Appends the log file instead of creating a new one.
Create parent folderCreates the parent folder for the log file if it does not already exist.
Include date in logfileAdds the system date to the file name with the format YYYYMMDD, for example _20051231.
Include time in logfileAdds the system time to the file name with the format HHMMSS, for example _235959.

Argument tab

Argument tab, Job (job entry)

Enter the following information to pass arguments to the job:

OptionDescription
Copy results to argumentsCopies the results from a previous transformation as arguments of the job using the Copy rows to result step. If Execute for every input row is selected, then each row is a set of command-line arguments to be passed to the job; otherwise, only the first row is used to generate the command-line arguments.
ArgumentSpecify which command-line arguments will be passed to the job.

Parameters tab

Job entry parameters tab

Enter the following information to pass parameters to the job:

OptionDescription
Copy results to parametersCopies the results from a previous job as parameters of the job using the Copy rows to result step.
Pass parameter values to sub-jobPasses all parameters of the job down to the sub-job.
ParameterSpecify the parameter name passed to the job.
Parameter to use Specify the field of an incoming record from a previous job as the parameter.

If you enter a field in Parameter to use then Static input value / variable is disabled.

Static input value / variable Specify the values for the job's parameters by using one of the following methods:
  • Manually enter a value, for example ETL Job.
  • Use a parameter to set the value, for example ${Internal.Job.Name}.
  • Use a combination of manually specified values and parameter values, for example ${FILE_PREFIX}_${FILE_DATE}.txt.

If you enter a value in Static input value / variable, then Parameter to use is disabled.

Get ParametersGet the existing parameters associated with the job.