Cron Expression Overview
The '?' character is allowed for the day of month and weekday fields. It is used to specify 'no specific value.' This is useful when you need to specify something in one of the two fields, but not the other.
The '-' character is used to specify ranges For example "10-12" in the hour field means "the hours 10, 11 and 12." The ',' character is used to specify additional values. For example "MON,WED,FRI" in the weekday field means "the days
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."
The '/' character is used to specify increments. For example "0/15" in the minute field means "the minutes 0, 15, 30, and 45". And "5/15" in the minute field means "the minutes 5, 20, 35, and 50". Specifying '*' before the '/' is equivalent to spec- ifying 0 is the value to start with. Essentially, for each field in the expression, there is a set of numbers that can be turned on or off. For minutes, the numbers range from 0 to 59. For hours, 0 to 23, for days of the month 0 to 31, and for months 1 to 12. The "/" character simply helps you turn on every "nth" value in the given set. Thus "7/6" in the month field only turns on month "7", it does NOT mean every 6th month, please note that subtlety.
The 'L' character is allowed for the day of month and weekday fields. This character is short-hand for "last", but it has dif- ferent meaning in each of the two fields. For example, the value "L" in the day of month field means "the last day of the month" - day 31 for January, day 28 for February on non-leap years. If used in the weekday field by itself, it simply means "6" or "SAT". But if used in the weekday field after another value, it means "the last xxx day of the month" - for example "5L" means "the last friday of the month". When using the 'L' option, it is important not to specify lists, or ranges of values, as you'll get confusing results.
The 'W' character is allowed for the day of month field. This character is used to specify the weekday (Monday-Friday) nearest the given day. As an example, if you were to specify "15W" as the value for the day-of-month field, the meaning is: "the nearest weekday to the 15th of the month". So if the 15th is a Saturday, the trigger will fire on Friday the 14th. If the 15th is a Sunday, the trigger will fire on Monday the 16th. If the 15th is a Tuesday, then it will fire on Tuesday the 15th. However if you specify "1W" as the value for day of month, and the 1st is a Saturday, the trigger will fire on Monday the 3rd, as it will not 'jump' over the boundary of a month's days. The 'W' character can only be specified when the day of month is a single day, not a range or list of days.
The 'L' and 'W' characters can also be combined for the day of month expression to yield 'LW', which translates to "last weekday of the month."
The '#' character is allowed for the weekday field. This character is used to specify "the nth" XXX day of the month. For example, the value of "5#3" in the day-of-week field means the third Friday of the month (day 5 = Friday and "#3" = the 3rd one in the month). Other examples: "1#1" = the first Monday of the month and "3#5" = the fifth Wednesday of the month. Note that if you specify "#5" and there is not 5 of the given day-of-week in the month, then no firing will occur that month. If the '#' character is used, there can only be one expression in the day-of-week field ("3#1,5#3" is not valid, since there are two expressions).
The legal characters and the names of months and days of the week are not case sensitive.
Overflowing ranges is supported - that is, having a larger number on the left hand side than the right. You might do 22-2 to catch 10 o'clock at night until 2 o'clock in the morning, or you might have NOV-FEB. It is very important to note that overuse of overflowing ranges creates ranges that don't make sense and no effort has been made to determine which interpretation CronExpression chooses. An example would be "0 0 14-6 ? * FRI-MON."
Skybot Scheduler supports an asterisk ('*') in either or both the day of month and weekday fields . When it is found, it (or one) is replaced internally with a '?'
Commands
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Commands
Use the Commands section to set up commands, return codes (doesn't apply to IBM i commands), and fail actions for the job. You can use a shared command set, use a shared IBM i shared command set, manually enter a command, or use one of the Skybot Scheduler command builders.
Manual Command or IBM i Command
If you don't want to use a shared command set, a shared IBM i command set, or a command builder, you can manually add a new command to the job.
1. Click Add and select Command.
2. Enter the command or script in the Command column. Notes:
The exit system command should be used with caution on Windows. When exit is used in a command, it immediately ends the current process before Skybot Scheduler is finished evaluating the results. Using the parameter /b can help.
The Windows timeout command should be avoided when writing commands in Skybot Scheduler. It will prevent the job from completing. The timeout command waits for user input (even if the '/NOBREAK' option is used) and this interferes with Skybot Scheduler determining when a command has completed. If you're adding a call to vlaunch.exe, consider using theWindows Desktop Application Command window
instead of manually adding it here. The advantage is that the Windows Desktop Application Command win- dow automatically builds the correct syntax for doing the call. However, if you must add it here, use the fol- lowing syntax:
windows path\vlaunch.exe" "command.exe parm1 parm2 parm3
This passes the command string, including all parameters, to the Skybot Agent Transponder for execution, and continues with the next job command without waiting for the results.
windows path\vlaunch.exe" /W "command.exe parm1 parm2 parm3
This stops and waits for the command to execute via the Skybot Agent Transponder, and gets a return code from the command that can be tested.
If your Skybot Scheduler license is bundled with SEQUEL, and you're adding commands for an IBM i agent, click the list icon to see which commands are available to add.
3. Click the value in theReturn Codecolumn, then click the pencil ) next to the value to open the Select Return Code window. You can enable and select a shared return code, or create an individual return code for this com- mand. (Return codes don't apply to IBM i commands.)
Clickherefor return code guidelines.
Commands
Action window. Select an item from the When command fails list. You can choose: Fail Job (the job will end and show a status of Failed), Continue to next Command (this command will fail, but the job will continue to run with the next command), Retry command before Failing Job, and Retry command before continuing to next Command. If you select either of the "retry" choices, you must enter the Number of Retries and the time to Wait Between Retries in seconds.
Click Save when you're finished.
Note: If a job has an IBM i command that doesn't pass validation on the IBM i agent, the command retry settings are ignored (Fail Job/ Continue to next Command settings are still used). The job log will contain messages about the invalid parameter, but no retries will be attempted. An example of an IBM i command that would fail to validate is: SNDMSG MSG(string will not validate) TOUSR(myuser). It contains an unquoted string with a space in it.
5. Repeat for each command you need to add manually.
File Transfer (FTP)
You can use the command builder to add a File Transfer command to the job.
Select File Transfer from the drop-down list. The File Transfer Command window opens. Note: You must create aFile Transfer Systembefore you can add an FTP command.
File Transfer System: Select a File Transfer System to work with.
Direction: Select file transfer direction. Push means you send a job to the remote system. Pull means you will retrieve a file from the remote system.
Remote File Name: Enter the name of the file on the remote system you want to work with. Agent File Name: Enter the name of the file on the agent system you want to work with.
Replace existing target file: Select if you want to replace an existing file. If you do not select this option, and there is a duplicate file, it causes an error.
Delete the source file after transfer: Select if you want the source file in the FTP directory deleted after the transfer is complete.
Transfer Type: Select the FTP mode. Select Binary when transferring applications or other information you don’t want encoded. Select Text when transferring text.
Commands
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Click Save to save your file transfer command. Skybot Scheduler writes the FTP syntax for you automatically. Notes:
IBM Power Systems (System i, iSeries, AS/400) servers with IFS require the following SITE commands in order to successfully complete the file transfer: listfmt 1; namefmt 1.
File Transfer commands use the following return codes: 0 - return code for successful completion
1 - return code for any failure of file transfer
2 - return code only for failure to delete source file (not for file transfer failure)
Informatica Cloud Task
You can use the command builder to create a Skybot Scheduler job that runs an Informatica Cloud task.
Select Informatica Cloud Task from the drop-down list. The Informatica Cloud Task Command window displays. Note: You must create anInformatica Cloud server definitionbefore you can add an Informatica Cloud task command.
Server Definition: Select the Informatica Cloud server definition to connect to. Task Type: Select task type code from the list, or type it in the box if it's not listed. Task Name: Type the name of the task or task flow that this command should run.
Continue Immediately: Select this if you want this task started, but don't need Skybot Scheduler to monitor or wait for the task to complete.
Commands
Click Save to save your Informatica Cloud Task command.
Informatica Workflow
You can use the command builder to create a Skybot Scheduler job that runs an Informatica workflow. Select Informatica Workflow from the drop-down list. The Informatica Workflow Command window displays.
Note: You must create anInformatica PowerCenter system definitionbefore you can add an Informatica Workflow com- mand.
System Definition: Select the Informatica PowerCenter system definition to connect to. Integration Service Name: Select the Integration Service to use inside the repository. Folder Name: Select the folder within the selected repository.
Workflow: Select the Workflow to execute.
Task Instance Path: To start the Workflow at a specific task, enter the path to the task. The Task Instance Path is period delimited, so you may specify tasks that are nested in worklets. For example, "w1.task1" would run 'task1' in worklet 'w1' inside of the selected workflow. If you do not enter a path, the job runs the entire Workflow.
Check the box to only run the task specified above.
Operating System Profile: Enter the operating system user for the Workflow. Run Instance Name: Enter a run instance name for running the Workflow.
Retrieve Log: Select this check box if you want to include the Workflow log in the Skybot job log.
Parameters: To pass parameters to the Workflow, provide the name of an existing parameter file or create a new parameter list.
If you are creating a new parameter list:
You must enter a value in the Scope column.
Do not add [brackets] around the value you enter for the scope. The Informatica web service adds the brack- ets to whatever is passed in for the scope.
Commands
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Click Save to save your Informatica Workflow command.
Oracle Concurrent Request
You can use the command builder to create a Skybot Scheduler job that runs an Oracle Concurrent Request.
Select Oracle Concurrent Request from the drop-down list to add an Oracle concurrent request command. The Oracle Concurrent Request Command window opens.
Commands
System Definition: Select an Oracle system definition for this concurrent request.
Wait: Select the Yes check box if you want Skybot Scheduler to wait until the submitted concurrent request is com- pleted before marking the Skybot job as complete.
Program Application Shortname: Enter the application shortname from Oracle.
Concurrent Program: Enter the name of the Oracle concurrent program to be used for this request.
Program Name: Enter the program name you want to give this concurrent request. Or, you can leave this blank to use:Skybot Job Name(run number).
How a job displays in Oracle depends on what, if anything, is entered into this box. If you enter a program name, it will display in Oracle as: "Program Name (Concurrent Program Name)". If you leave this box blank, it will display as: "Skybot Job Name(run number) (Concurrent Program Name)". Notice that the run number is only displayed if you leave this box blank.
To add the parameters for this concurrent request, click Add Parameters. Then, enter the parameter Name (which can be anything because the name is for your reference only) and the Value (which must be a legitimate param- eter value). The order of the parameters must match the requirements for the Oracle application. You can add more than one parameter. To delete a parameter, click the X at the end of the row.
To pass null parameters to CONSUB, use ' " " ' without spaces (single-quote double-quote double-quote single- quote) for each null parameter.
In the following example, FND is the shortname for the Application Object Library, FNDCPPGS is the Concurrent Pro- grams Report, and the parameter value of FND limits the report to Concurrent Programs in the FND (Application Object Library). Once the request in this example is submitted on the Oracle system, it will have a Name of "Skybot Job (Con- current Programs Report)."
Commands
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Click Save to save your Oracle concurrent request command.
SAP NetWeaver Event
You can use the command builder to create a Skybot Scheduler job that raises an event on an SAP system. This allows you create reactivity in your network based on an SAP Event occurring.
Select SAP NetWeaver Event from the drop-down list. The SAP NetWeaver Event Command window opens. Note: You must create anSAP system definitionbefore you can add an SAP NetWeaver Event command.
System Definition: Select an SAP System Definition.
System Environment: Select an environment to use with the System Definition. If you have not defined an envi- ronment for this definition, it uses the default environment that you set up in the System Definition.
Commands
Event Parameters: Add event parameters, if necessary.
Note: You can use the Event Parameters option with Skybot variables topass information throughduring a job.
Click Save to save your SAP NetWeaver Event command.
SAP NetWeaver Job
You can use the command builder to create a Skybot Scheduler job that runs an SAP NetWeaver job. Select SAP NetWeaver Job from the drop-down list. The SAP NetWeaver Job Command window opens. Note: You must create anSAP system definitionbefore you can add an SAP NetWeaver Job command.
Filtering Job Definitions: Use System Definition and System Environment to limit the available Job Definitions to choose from.
Commands
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You can use the command builder to create a Skybot Scheduler job that runs a process chain on an SAP system. This allows you create reactivity in your network based on an SAP process chain running.
Select SAP NetWeaver Process Chain from the drop-down list. The SAP NetWeaver Process Chain Command window opens.
Note: You must create anSAP system definitionbefore you can add an SAP NetWeaver Process Chain command. System Definition: Select an SAP System Definition.
System Environment: Select an environment to use with the System Definition. If you have not defined an envi- ronment for this definition, it uses the default environment that you set up in the System Definition.
Process Chain: Type or select the SAP process chain you want to run. Note: This must match the technical name of a process chain in the SAP system selected above.
Long Description: Type or select the long description from the process chain you want to run.
Note: If you begin typing the first few letters of either the process chain or the long description, you can click the down arrow and select from a list of available items that are pulled from SAP based on what you typed. Also, if you enter the name of a process chain, the long description associated with it is automatically pulled from SAP. The reverse is also true; if you enter a valid long description, the corresponding process chain name is pulled from SAP.
Click Save to save your SAP NetWeaver Process Chain command.
SAP NetWeaver Variant
You can use the command builder to create a Skybot Scheduler job that modifies an SAP ABAP Variant. Select SAP NetWeaver Variant from the drop-down list. The SAP NetWeaver Variant Command window opens. Note: You must create anSAP system definitionbefore you can add an SAP NetWeaver Variant command.
System Definition: Select the SAP NetWeaver System Definition to use for this command.
System Environment: Select an environment to use with the System Definition. If you have not defined an envi- ronment for this definition, it uses the default environment that you defined in the System Definition.
Program: Enter the name of the SAP ABAP program.
Variant: Select or enter the variant. If the ABAP program entered doesn't contain any variants, the list will be empty. Parameters: Click Add Parameters to add additional variant parameters to be changed by this command. Click OK to save the parameter. You can add multiple parameters, but only existing parameters may be entered. This com- mand doesn't add new parameters to a variant.