Job Status Values Explained

Learning Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to recognize a few common IBM i job status values and explain what each one generally means.

Simple Explanation

The WRKACTJOB Basics for Developers lesson noted that a job's status can show more than simply active and running, without going into detail. A few common status values worth recognizing include:

• ACTIVE, meaning the job is currently running.
• JOBQ, meaning the job is waiting on a job queue, covered in the Job Queues and Output Queues lesson, not yet running.
• OUTQ, generally shown in the context of a job's produced spool file output waiting on an output queue, covered in the Spool Files and Output Queues lesson, rather than the job itself still running.
• MSGW (Message Waiting), meaning the job is paused, waiting for someone to respond to a message it sent, such as an inquiry message, covered in the Reading IBM i Message IDs lesson.

Why It Matters

Recognizing these status values at a glance tells you immediately what stage a job is actually in, without needing to dig further just to understand the basics: whether it simply hasn't started yet, is actively working, is stuck waiting for a reply, or has already produced output waiting to be handled.

Practical Example

Imagine checking on the nightly order-processing batch job with WRKSBMJOB, covered in the previous lesson. Seeing its status as JOBQ tells you it is still waiting its turn and has not started running yet. Checking again later and seeing ACTIVE confirms it is now actually running. If it instead showed MSGW, that would tell you the job has paused, waiting for a reply to some message, rather than continuing to work on its own.

This is a simplified, illustrative example rather than a specific real investigation, but it reflects a genuinely common, practical reason recognizing these status values matters.

Common Confusions

"Does MSGW mean the job has failed?" Not necessarily. MSGW means the job is paused, waiting for a reply to a message, which could be a normal, expected inquiry rather than a failure; it does mean the job will not continue on its own until that message is answered.

"Is OUTQ status the same thing as an output queue itself?" No. An output queue, covered in the Spool Files and Output Queues lesson, is the actual holding area for spool files. OUTQ as a status value simply indicates that context, spool file output waiting on an output queue, rather than being the output queue itself.

"Are these the only status values a job can ever show?" No. These are a few common, especially useful ones to recognize at a beginner level; IBM i supports additional status values beyond this introduction, covering more specific or advanced situations.

Quick Recap

• ACTIVE means a job is currently running.
• JOBQ means a job is waiting on a job queue, not yet running.
• OUTQ relates to a job's spool file output waiting on an output queue.
• MSGW means a job is paused, waiting for a reply to a message, and will not continue until it receives one.

Try Asking the AI Tutor

Use the AI Tutor to ask follow-up questions about this lesson. For example, try asking:

• "What would I need to do if I found a job stuck in MSGW status?"
• "What are some other job status values besides ACTIVE, JOBQ, OUTQ, and MSGW?"