Job Process Overview

Jobs (also referred to as batch jobs) are specific units of work that are performed in the background. Two types of Lawson programs use batch jobs:

• Batch updates

• Reports

These programs differ from those used by online application forms in that with online forms the data gets processed immediately. Batch jobs wait in a job queue for processing when the system has the available resources. Reports differ from batch updates in that their purpose is to retrieve data from the database, whereas the purpose of batch updates is to make changes to the data in the database. Sometimes reports are available with batch updates--for example, to show what was updated.

The process of running a job includes several tasks:

• Define the job. Provide a unique name for the job and define any parameters to control the output of the job. Example, run a report for a specific company instead of all companies.

• Submit the job to the job queue to process the job when resources are available.

• Monitor the job. Check to see when the job is done and that it has completed normally.

• Manage report and print files. If the job produces reports, view the print files electronically, send them to a printer, or distribute them to other users.

• Delete the job. Periodically, you may need to delete job definitions, jobs and print files.