APPX Background Processing

Next, either the user has to request background processing on the Disposition screen by clicking the 'Submit to BG' button or the Designer can set --- SUBMIT PROCESS to Y in the Pre-Invocation Event Point. There are other --- SUBMIT fields available, but those are intended for use with any 3rd party job queue managers, APPX does not use them.

On Linux/Unix platforms, APPX runs the appx_submit script to invoke a background job. This script in in the $APPXPATH folder. On Windows platforms, the engine invokes the background session directly without using a script or batch file. If you want APPX to use a script on Windows so that you can customize the behaviour, set the APPX_BG_SCRIPT environment variable (see below).

On all platforms the engine will spawn another APPX session, passing the -session flag. This flag points to a temporary file that contains the context, i.e., any open files, any work fields and anything the background session needs to continue processing.

APPX Designer

For example, we can modify the SALESREP LISTING job in DMO by checking the 'Sep. Task' option:

If the user clicks the 'Submit to BG' button on the Disposition screen, the report will run in background. Alternatively, the Designer coudl set --- SUBMIT PROCESS to Y in the Pre-invocation step of the Output, and the report would always run in background regardless of the user's selection.

Setting APPX_BG_SCRIPT

You can customize the processing by setting APPX_BG_SCRIPT to your own script. On Linux/Unix platforms, we recommend copying the existing appx_submit script and changing your copy. If you customize appx_submit directly it will get replaced when you upgrade APPX and you customizations will be lost. On Windows, there is no existing script or batch file, so you will have to create your own. Either way, you must set APPX_BG_SCRIPT to point to your script file. See Setting Environment Variables for more information on settting environment variables. The script is assumed to be in the $APPXPATH folder,

Example appx_submit.cmd Windows batch file

:: A Typical Argument list will be 8 Arguments passed from APPX

Comments:

1. Fixed - Bug Description 1.
2. OPEN - Bug test - Test bug. Not valid.

###############################################################################

APPX_BG_SCRIPT=appx_submit.cmd

::APPX_SUBMIT.CMD

• 
• NOTE: If you do not wish to present a Disposition screen, you can specify background processing in ILF code:
  • SET --- SUBMIT PROCESS = Y

1. Fixed - Bug Description 1.
2. OPEN - Bug test - Test bug. Not valid.

Steps

• Modify the JOB's OUTPUT process type to have Separate Task (Sep. Task) checked as shown in the figure below.
• 
  

The appx_submit.cmd Windows batch file

• On the JOB's output disposition screen select SUBMIT to BG.
• 
  

The appx.env file.

###############################################################################
#
#  APPX Configuration File
#  -----------------------
#
#  This file can be used to configure your APPX environment.  Upon startup, 
#  APPX will read this environment file, then it will look for an environment 
#  file in the user's home directory (or c:\ for Windows) for any overrides.
#
#  Comments are denoted by a leading "#" symbol, blank lines, and
#  lines not containing an = symbol.  The only exception is an "include"
#  which looks like this:
#
#  include=/etc/appx.env
#
#  The following file contains a list of the valid environment settings that
#  can be used with APPX.  To active any of these settings just remove the
#  comment symbol from the first column and then make any edits needed to the
#  environment variable value.
#
#  For this release, no substitution or expansion is done.  Every value is
#  taken as a literal value.
#
##############################################################################

#=============================================================================
#  GENERAL BASE CONFIGURATION SECTION
#=============================================================================

#  APPXPATH can be set here.  The default path is the APPX executable location
#  appended with a "data" subdirectory.
#
#APPXPATH=

#  APPX_MSG can be set to display a constant text message at the bottom of all 
#  of the APPX screens during an APPX session.
#
#APPX_MSG=Message text goes here

#  APPX_KEYMAP can be set to the name of the default keymap you would like to 
#  load.  This is the same as using the -m= command line option.
#
#APPX_KEYMAP=vt320-k

#  APPX_SHOW_PROGRESS will activate a running status message during Query
#  and related Output and Update processes.  This message will keep you
#  informed as to the progress of the batch process.  Number of records
#  processed, number of records selected, etc.  The message is updated
#  every record until it reaches 10, then it updates every 10 records
#  until it reaches 100, then it is updated every 100 records, etc.
#
#APPX_SHOW_PROGRESS=true

#  APPX_MAX_FILES will set the maximum number of physically open files
#  APPX can have open during an APPX session. If APPX tries to open more
#  files than this, it will start closing stale files that have no
#  records locked to make way for new files. If an closed file is
#  required to do I/O, it will automatically be re-opened without the
#  Application knowing anything has happened. We call this Open File
#  Descriptor Caching.
#
#APPX_MAX_FILES=80 

#  APPX_PIVOT_YEAR controls how APPX will "synthesize" the century
#  component of date fields.  "Synthesizing" a century is the process of
#  defaulting it based upon the two digit year and the pivot year value,
#  when the century is not explicitly available.  See the y2k Implementation
#  Guide for details.  Pivot year is implemented in APPX release 3.2.83
#  and greater.  By default, pivot year logic is disabled.  It is enabled
#  by setting this variable.
#
#APPX_PIVOT_YEAR=50

#=============================================================================
#  PRINTING AND JOB SUBMISSION CONFIGURATION SECTION
#=============================================================================

#  APPX_PRT_FI_DIR is used to set the disk location for creating print files
#  on your system.  The default location in unix is /tmp/.  The default 
#  location in Windows is $APPXPATH\print\{userID}\
#
#APPX_PRT_FI_DIR=/tmp/

#  APPX_PRT_SCRIPT points to the name of the script used to spool APPX reports
#  to a print device or queue manager.  The default is appx_print in the
#  APPXPATH directory.
#
#APPX_PRT_SCRIPT=appx_print

#  APPX_BG_SCRIPT points to the name used to submit batch jobs into background
#  or a job scheduling system.  The default is appx_submit.
#
# APPX_BG_SCRIPT=appx_submit.cmd

#=============================================================================
#  KEA INTERFACE CONFIGURATION SECTION
#============================================================================

#  APPX_KEYMAP can be set to the name of the default keymap you would like to 
#  load.  This is the same as using the -m= command line option.
#
#APPX_KEYMAP=keaterm

#  APPX_KEATERM controls how APPX talks to the KEA Terminal emulation package.
#
#APPX_KEATERM=Buttons
#APPX_KEATERM=NoButtons

#=============================================================================
#  SCRIPTING & REGRESSION TESTING CONFIGURATION SECTION
#=============================================================================

#  APPX_SCRIPT_OUT will record all enduser keystrokes (and selected 
#  Processes executed in the program flow) into an output file.  This 
#  file is quite readable, and is editable for the use of APPX_SCRIPT_IN 
#  (described below).  It is initialized upon entering APPX.  It is not 
#  populated until APPX is successfully exited.
#
#APPX_SCRIPT_OUT=/tmp/appx.script

#  APPX_SCRIPT_IN will "play back" all keystrokes recorded in it, 
#  into the invocation of the APPX engine, as if the enduser had 
#  manually pressed these keys.
#
#APPX_SCRIPT_IN=/tmp/appx.script

#  APPX_SCRIPT_STEP if set will cause APPX to pause before each APPX OPTION
#  key is sent from the script.  While paused, you can press certain keys
#  to do special processing.  Here is a list of the actions and keys that
#  work while you are paused.
#
#  c = continue running remainder of script without stepping.
#  p = pause and you take over the keyboard until you press ^r
#  e = terminate script playback and take control of the session.
#
#  any other key will step forward in the script until the next APPX OPTION
#  key is encountered in the script and then it will pause again.
#
#APPX_SCRIPT_STEP=true

#  APPX_TST_DIR points to a directory to capture screen images.  If this is
#  set, APPX will record every screen image it comes to into this location.
#  If you are running with APPX_SCRIPT_OUT set, then it will store the
#  images in a subdirectory of "expect" and if you are running with
#  APPX_SCRIPT_IN set, then they will be stored in a subdirectory of
#  "actual".  The screens themselves will be saved with a file name starting
#  with "screen000" and incrementing the last three digits.
#
#APPX_TST_DIR=/tmp

#=============================================================================
#  DESIGNER AIDS CONFIGURATION SECTION
#=============================================================================

#  APPX_DB_TRAPS when set will cause APPX to stop for TRAPs regardless
#  of who is running a process or how the process was started.  Without
#  this set, APPX will only execute traps when a process was started
#  from within Application Design.
#
#APPX_DB_TRAPS=true

#  APPX_PORTABLE_DATE when set will force the Import/Export utility to 
#  hide the bad_portable_date error that can sometimes come up quite
#  often when dealing with data from a SpeedII migration.  Speed would
#  allow you to store invalid dates in a date field via ILF code where
#  APPX will reject any invalid date during import.
#
#APPX_PORTABLE_DATE=true
  
#=============================================================================
#  VISION DATABASE CONFIGURATION SECTION
#=============================================================================

#  APPX_PD_SIGNS will tell APPX what byte pattern to use for the sign bits
#  of packed decimal numbers.  The default is "CD" which is how APPX
#  is normally distributed.  Vision uses a default of "FD" which can be
#  overridden when the vision programs are compiled.  This setting also
#  effects the APPX EMs which store some packed decimal information.  This
#  setting also effects files stored as native APPX files.  So, to use this
#  setting of "FD", you must install a special set of APPX internal EMs,
#  and if you have and existing data in "CD" format, you must export the
#  data, set the APPX_PD_SIGNS=FD, then import.
#  
#APPX_PD_SIGNS=FD

#=============================================================================
#  APPX FOR WINDOWS CONFIGURATION SECTION
#=============================================================================

#  APPX_0SA_PATH will tell APPX to look at this path for it's System 
#  Administration files.  This is handy for running several copies
#  of APPX on networked PCs while sharing one common set of System
#  Administration settings.
#
#  You can also store shared design files on a common shared drive while
#  storing local copies of all of the EMs on a local drive.  To do this,
#  you create a FMS group for your design files and set the FMS Path to
#  the shared location while setting the FMS Controls fields to the local
#  path for storing EMs.
#
#  FMS Path     [r:\appx\data           ]
#  FMS Controls [EM=c:\appx\data        ]
#
#APPX_0SA_PATH=r:\appx\data

#=============================================================================
#  TECH SUPPORT DEBUGGING CONFIGURATION SECTION
#=============================================================================

#  APPX_UNIXIO_STATS and APPX_UNIXIO_PROCS work together to help 
#  debug file access and performance problems.  If you set APPX_UNIXIO_STATS
#  to a log file name, Appx will log all file i/o's performed.  The
#  format of the report is:
#    open_count read_count readnext_count start_count write_count rewrite_count filename
#  The statistics are written as each file is closed so if a file is closed and 
#  reopened, it will appear more than once in the log file.
#
#  Setting APPX_UNIXIO_PROCS will cause Appx to include the current process name
#  in the logfile.
#
#APPX_UNIXIO_STATS=/tmp/file_stats
#APPX_UNIXIO_PROCS=1

APPX Desktop Client

APPX Background Processing on a Windows Server

Overview

Required software components

APPX Desktop Client Java Web Start Bundle

• You can get the APPX Desktop Client from here.

APPX Server

• You need a functioning APPX installation. Follow instructions in this document to install APPX on Windows if you don't already have APPX installed.
• You should also have the variable APPX_BG_SCRIPT=appx_submit.cmd. You can place this variable setting inside your appx.env file. The appx.env file should go into your %APPXPATH directory (C:\Appx\data\appx.env)

DMO Demo APPX Application

Quick steps

APPX Designer

• Modify the JOB's OUTPUT process type to have Separate Task (Sep. Task) checked.

APPX Server

• Place the following inside your appx.env file, which should be in %APPXPATH or C:\Appx\data\appx.env

APPX_BG_SCRIPT=appx_submit.cmd

• The appx_submit.cmd command should contain

::APPX_SUBMIT.CMD
:: A Typical Argument list will be 8 Arguments passed from APPX
:: -image, -session, -mode, -notify, -date, -priority, -queue, and -user
:: Windows will break on the equals sign giving us 16 arguments in total
:: We will ignore all but the -image and -session pairs to submit
:: an APPX session with syntax that will be similar to
:: c:\APPX\Appx.exe -session=BY2Z7JDC

:: You would likekly see something like this in arglist.txt :: -image :: C:\Appx\Appx.exe :: -session :: BY2Z7JDC :: -mode :: SPOOL :: -notify :: Yes :: -date :: 2009031201020202 :: -priority :: 1 :: -queue :: A :: -user :: Administrator

:: The following command should execute APPX with the session data as :: an argument ::

%2 %3=%4

APPX Run Time

• On the JOB's output disposition screen select SUBMIT to BG

Bugs:

1. Fixed - Bug Description 1.
2. OPEN - Bug test - Test bug. Not valid.

Comments:

<--/commentPlugin-->

-- JoeOrtagus - 10 Mar 2009