Defining a batch job

A batch job is a specific unit of work that is 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.