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WORK IN PROGRESS!

Introduction

Consider the situation where files with different categories (i.e. files with similar characteristics such as type, source, or similar) can be processed in parallel but all the files of any one category have to be processed sequentially.

For example, the centralised data processing of a company receives stock movement reports from subsidiaries at regular intervals. Whilst the reports from different subsidiaries can be processed simultaneously, the reports from each subsidiary have to be processed sequentially.

The 'Best Practice' Solution

Our recommended approach for this situation would be:

digraph \{

graph [rankdir=TB]
node [shape=Mrecord,style="filled",fillcolor=lightblue]
node [fontsize=10]
ranksep=0.3
	subgraph cluster_0 \{

		style=filled;
		color=lightgrey;
		node [style=filled,color=white];
		label = "JobScheduler";
		labeljust = "l";
		pad = 0.1;

FileOrderSource[label= "\{<f0> FileOrder&#92;nSource|<f1>Identify&#92; Category|<f2>Is&#92; Lock&#92; Set|\{<f3>Yes|<f4>No\}\}"];
Setback[label= "\{<f0>Setback&#92;nWait\}"];
StartProcessing[label= "\{<f0>Set&#92; Lock|Start&#92; Processing&#92; File\}"];
EndProcessing[label= "\{<f0>End&#92; Processing&#92; File|<f1>Release&#92; Lock\}"];

FileOrderSource:f3 -> Setback ->  FileOrderSource:f2;
FileOrderSource:f4 -> StartProcessing -> EndProcessing [weight=4];
	\}

File_Transfer ->  FileOrderSource;
\}}

• The most important feature of this solution is that it only requires one job chain and one set of jobs to separate the processing of different categories of files, thereby simplifying maintenance of the jobs and job chain.

• Use a single 'load_file' File Order Source directory to which all files are delivered.
• JobScheduler would use regular expressions to identify the files arriving in this directory on the basis of their names, timestamps or file extensions and forward them for processing accordingly.

• JobScheduler would then set a

  '

  lock

  '

  for the subsidiary whose file is being processed to prevent further files from this subsidiary being processed as long as processing continues.

  No Format

  Should

  a

  'new'

  file

  from

  this

  subsidiary

  arrive

  whilst

  its

  predecessor

  is

  being

  processed,

  the

  job

  'receiving'

  the

  new

  file

  will

  be

  '

  set

  back

  '

  by

  JobScheduler

  as

  long

  as

  the

  lock

  for

  the

  subsidiary

  is

  set.

• This lock would be released by JobScheduler once processing of the 'first' file has been completed.
• The job 'receiving' the new file will now be able to forward the new file for processing.

The Solution in Detail

• JS

  JobScheduler starts as soon as a file matching

  with Regular Expression

  a regular expression is found in the directory.

  noformat

  This

  directory

  is

  set

  in

  the

  "File

  Order

  Sources"

  area

  in

  the

  "Steps/Nodes"

  view

  of

  the

  "load_files"

  job

  chain. TODO: SCREENSHOT

  chain as shown in the screenshot below:
  
  

  Image Added

• JobScheduler's aquire_lock job matches files using regular expressions and determines the file's category - for example, Berlin or Munich.noformat
  

  The

  regular

  expressions

  are

  also

  defined

  in

  the

  "File

  Order

  Sources"

  area

  shown

  in

  the

  screenshot.

  Note

  that

  for simplicity the

  regular

  expressions

  match

  the

  prefixes

  "a"

  and

  "b"

  in

  the

  file

  names

  and

  not

  directly

  "Berlin"

  or

  "Munich".

  The

  aquire_lock

  job

  uses

  a

  Rhino

  JavaScript

  to

  try

  to

  aquire

  the

  lock

  and

  either wait

  if

  the

  lock

  is

  not

  available. This script is listed below.

  available or proceed to the next node if it is.
  This script is listed below:

  Code Block
  language javascript

...

• function spooler_process()

...

• { try

...

• {

...

• var parameters = spooler_task.order().params(); var filePath = "" + String(parameters.value("scheduler_file_path")); spooler_log.info( " scheduler_file_path : " + filePath );

...

• var param1 = "" + String(parameters.value("param1")); spooler_log.info( " param1 : " + param1 );

...

• var fileParts = filePath.split("\\"); var fileName = fileParts[fileParts.length-1]; spooler_log.info( "fileName : " + fileName ); if(fileName.match("^a[A-Za-z0-9_]*\.csv$"))

...

• { var lockName = "BERLIN_PROC"; var lock_name = "BERLIN_PROC"; spooler_log.info( "File matched with berlin lock_name : "+ lockName );

...

• } if(fileName.match("^b[A-Za-z0-9_]*\.csv$"))

...

• { var lockName = "MUNICH_PROC"; spooler_log.info( "File matched with berlin lock_name : "+ lockName );

...

• } spooler_task.order().params().set_value("file_spec",fileName); spooler_task.order().params().set_value("lock_name",lockName); if (!spooler.locks().lock_or_null( lockName ))

...

• { var lock = spooler.locks().create_lock(); lock.set_name( lockName ); spooler.locks().add_lock( lock ); if (spooler_task.try_hold_lock( lockName ))

...

• { return true;

...

• } else

...

• { spooler_task.call_me_again_when_locks_available();

...

• }

...

• } else

...

• { spooler_task.order().setback(); spooler_log.info( " lock is already aquired , lock_name : "+ lockName +" , setback , will retry after some time");

...

• } return true;

...

• } catch (e)

...

• { spooler_log.warn("error occurred : " + String(e)); return false;

...

• }

...

...

• }

• Once aquire_lock finds the matching category it will try to set a semaphore (flag) using JobScheduler's inbuilt LOCK mechanism
• Only one instance of each LOCK is allowed as can be seen in Max Non Exclusive parameter shown in the screenshot of JobScheduler's JOE interface below:Image Added

• below. Once a LOCK has been assigned to first a file of from a category (either Berlin or Munich), next file all subsequent files for this category has have to wait with a setback until the LOCK is freehas been released. TODO - ADD SCREENSHOT
• The

  The same mechanism will be repeated for files from other categories. As long as a file of any given category is not being processed and therefore the corresponding LOCK not been set, the way will be free for the file from the other category to be allowed to be processed.

  This can be seen in the following screenshot of the JOC interface showing the progression of file orders along the load_files job chain:

  Image Added

• Once process is finished depending upon success or error, JobScheduler will move the file from the in folder to either the done (on success) or failed (on error) folders.
• After moving the input file to the correct target directory by JobScheduler, the release_lock job will be called, which will remove the lock/semaphore from JobScheduler and allow the next file from the same category to be processed.

The following screenshot from the JobScheduler's JOE interface shows the nodes in the load_files job chain and their related states:

Image Added

The release_lock job uses a similar Rhino JavaScript to the aquire_lock as can be seen in the following listing:

function spooler

function spooler_process() \{

  try \{

     var parameters = spooler_task.order().params();
    
     var filePath = "" + String(parameters.value("scheduler_file_path"));
     spooler_log.info( " scheduler_file_path : " + filePath );
     var lockName = "" + String(parameters.value( "lock_name" ));
     spooler_log.info( "  lock_name : " +  lockName );

/*
     var fileParts = filePath.split("\\");
if (spooler.locks().lock_or_null( lockName )) {
      var fileName  = fileParts[fileParts.length-1] spooler.locks().lock( lockName ).remove();
     spooler_log.info( "fileName : " + fileName )}
     return true;

  }  catch if(fileName.match("^a[A-Za-z0-9_]*\.csv$")) \{(e) {

    spooler_log.warn("error occurred: "  var lockName = "BERLIN_PROC"+ String(e));
        var lock_name = "BERLIN_PROC";
        spooler_log.info( "File matched with berlin lock_name : "+ lockName  );
     \}
    
     if(fileName.match("^b[A-Za-z0-9_]*\.csv$")) \{
    return false;

  }
}

• A job to force release_lock is also required for the situation that the processing of a job fails without the corresponding lock being released.

• The script for this job to release the 'Berlin' lock would look something like:

function spooler_process() {

  try {
    var lockNamelock_name = "MUNICHBERLIN_PROC";
        spooler_log.info( "File matched with berlin lock_name : "+ lockName  ).locks().lock(lock_name).remove();
    return true;
  } catch (e) \}{
*/
     if (spooler_log.locks().lock_or_null( lockName )) \{warn("error occurred: " + String(e));
        spooler.locks().lock( lockName ).remove();
     \}
     return true;

  \} catch (e) \{

    spooler_log.warn("error occurred: " + String(e));
    return false;

  \}

\}

• A force-release_lock job is also required for the situation that the processing of a job fails without the corresponding lock being released.

  No Format
  The script for this job to release the 'Berlin' lock would look something like:

function spooler_process() \{

  try \{

    var lock_name = "BERLIN_PROC";
   
      spooler.locks().lock(lock_name).remove();
   
    return true;

  \} catch (e) \{

    spooler_log.warn("error occurred: " + String(e));
    return false;

  \}

\}

Limitations of this solution

• The limitation of this approach will become apparent if more than one file should arrive from a subsidary at once.

  No Format

  This is because there is no guarantee that files arriving together will be processed in any given order. This situation typically occurs after an unplanned loss of a file transfer connection. After the connection has been restored, there is a) no guarantee that the files arriving as a batch will be written to the file systen in a particular order b) no way for JobScheduler to know how many files will arrive as a batch.

• One solution here would be to wait until a steady state in the incoming directory has been reached (i.e. no new file has been added and the size of all files remains constant over a suitable period of time) before starting to identify files. JobScheduler could then order files according to their names before forwarding them for processing.

  No Format
  The downside of this second approach is that it brings a delay in starting processing with it, due to the need wait to check whether all members of a batch of files has arrived by checking for a steady state.

Solution Demo

A demonstration of this solution is available for download from:

Demo Installation

• Unpack the zip file to a local directory

• Copy the 'SQLLoaderProc' folder to your JobScheduler 'live' folder.

  No Format
  ...

• Copy the 'Data' folder to the a suitable local location.

  No Format
  The default location for this folder, which is specified in the configurations in the demo jobs, is: {{C:\sandbox}} Note that the following paths have to be modified if the location of the 'Data' folder is changed:

• The 'load_files' File Order Source directories in the load_files.job_chain.xml job chain object
• the 'source_file' and 'target_file' paths specified as parameters in the move_file_suc.job.xml and move_file_error.job.xml objects

Running the demo

• Just copy files from the 'Data/__test-files' folder to the 'in' folder, JobScheduler will automatically start processing within a few seconds.

How does the Demo Work?

The demo job chain ('load_files') is shown in the diagram to the right.

 Note that the secondary job chain shown on the right of the diagram is only relevant of an error occurs.

The 'Folderin_a' and 'Folderin_a' symbols represent the 'File Order Source' directory monitored by the job chain.

• JobScheduler starts as soon as file matching with Regular Expression found in in directory.
• JobScheduler's aquire_lock job matches file with regular expression and decide file's category i.e. Berlin or Munich.
• Once aquire_lock finds the matching category its try to set an Semaphore (Flag) using JobScheduler's inbuilt LOCK mechanism
• There is only onc instance on LOCK is allowed or once LOCK is assigned to first file of Berlin category, next file has to wait or setback until the LOCK is free.
• THe same mechanism will be repeated for files from category Munich but since the LOCK is not acquired ( or Semaphore (Flag)) is not set for Munich, file from category Munich will be allowed to be processed.
• Once process is finished depending upon success or error , JS will move the file from the 'in' folder to either the 'done' (on success) or 'failed' (on error).
• After moving input file to correct target directory JobScheduler job release_lock will be called which will remove the lock/Semaphore from JS and next file from same category will be allowed.

Graphical Representation of the Solution

digraph "Example: File Transfer using JadeJob"\{

graph [rankdir=TB]
node [shape=box,style="rounded,filled",fillcolor=aquamarine]
node [fontsize=10]
ranksep=0.3

FolderIn_a ->  start
FolderIn_b ->  start

start  -> aquire_lock  -> load_file_process  -> move_file_suc  -> suc_release_lock  -> end_suc  -> success
move_file_err -> error_release_lock -> end_err -> error

\}

return false;

  }
}

Limitations of this solution

• The limitation of this approach will become apparent if more than one file should arrive from a subsidary at once.

  This is because there is no guarantee that files arriving together will be processed in any given order. This situation typically occurs after an unplanned loss of a file transfer connection. After the connection has been restored, there is a) no guarantee that the files arriving as a batch will be written to the file systen in a particular order b) no way for JobScheduler to know how many files will arrive as a batch.

   

• One solution here would be to wait until a steady state in the incoming directory has been reached (i.e. no new file has been added and the size of all files remains constant over a suitable period of time) before starting to identify files. JobScheduler could then order files according to their names before forwarding them for processing.

  The downside of this second approach is that it brings a delay in starting processing with it, due to the need wait to check whether all members of a batch of files has arrived by checking for a steady state.

Solution Demo

A demonstration of this solution is available for download from:

• sequential_execution_of_jobs.zip

Demo Installation

• Unpack the zip file to a local directory

• Copy the 'SQLLoaderProc' folder to your JobScheduler 'live' folder.

  No Format
  TODO - ADD LINK TO DOKU

• Copy the 'Data' folder to the a suitable local location.

  The default location for this folder, which is specified in the configurations in the demo jobs, is:
      C:\sandbox
  
  

  • The 'load_files' File Order Source directories in the load_files.job_chain.xml job chain object
  • the 'source_file' and 'target_file' paths specified as parameters in the move_file_suc.job.xml and move_file_error.job.xml objects

• Note that the following paths have to be modified if the location of the 'Data' folder is changed:

Running the demo

• Just copy files from the 'Data/__test-files' folder to the 'in' folder:
  • JobScheduler will automatically start processing within a few seconds
  • Once processing has been completed the file(s) added to the 'in' folder will be moved to the 'done' or 'failed' folders, depending on whether processing was successful or not.
• DO NOT attempt to start an order for the job chain. This will only cause an error in the aquire_lock job.

How does the Demo Work?

digraph "Example: File Transfer using JadeJob"{

graph [rankdir=TB]
node [shape=box,style="rounded,filled",fillcolor=aquamarine]
node [fontsize=10]
ranksep=0.3

FolderIn_a ->  start
FolderIn_b ->  start

start  -> aquire_lock  -> load_file_process  -> move_file_suc  -> suc_release_lock  -> end_suc  -> success
move_file_err -> error_release_lock -> end_err -> error

}

The demo job chain ('load_files') is shown in the diagram to the right.

See also

• Our Using locks FAQ.
• The Locks section in the JobScheduler reference documentation.
• Example for YADE to check files for completeness by steady state

 See also: