Working with IBM i Job Attributes in CLLE

Learning Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use RTVJOBA to retrieve basic attributes of the job a CLLE program is running in, and explain why a program might need to know this information.

Simple Explanation

In the Job Logs and Spool Files Basics lesson, you learned that a job is a unit of work running on IBM i. Every CLLE program runs inside some job, whether interactive or submitted with SBMJOB, as covered in the SBMJOB and Batch Job Basics lesson. That job has its own attributes, such as its name, number, and the user profile running it, which a CLLE program can retrieve using RTVJOBA (Retrieve Job Attributes):

DCL VAR(&JOBNAME) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(10)
DCL VAR(&JOBUSER) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(10)
DCL VAR(&JOBNBR) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(6)
DCL VAR(&MSG) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(80)

RTVJOBA JOB(&JOBNAME) USER(&JOBUSER) NBR(&JOBNBR)

CHGVAR VAR(&MSG) VALUE('Running as job ' *CAT &JOBNAME *CAT '/' *CAT +
  &JOBUSER *CAT '/' *CAT &JOBNBR)
SNDPGMMSG MSG(&MSG)

RTVJOBA fills in the variables named in its keyword parameters, JOB, USER, and NBR here, with the current job's actual name, user, and job number. RTVJOBA supports many other job attributes beyond these three, but this lesson focuses on a few of the most commonly used ones.

Why It Matters

Knowing the job it is running in lets a CLLE program build clearer messages, log entries, or decisions that reference exactly which job did the work, which is especially useful once several jobs, interactive and batch, might be running around the same time. This connects directly to the SBMJOB and Batch Job Basics lesson: a batch job's own name and number, retrieved with RTVJOBA, can help confirm exactly which submitted job produced a particular result or message.

Practical Example

Imagine a batch job submitted with SBMJOB, as covered in the earlier lesson, running an order-processing CLLE program. That program uses RTVJOBA to retrieve its own job name and number, and includes them in a message it sends when it finishes, making it immediately clear, to anyone checking messages or job logs later, exactly which specific batch job produced that message.

This is a simplified, illustrative example rather than a specific real process, but it reflects a genuinely common, practical reason CLLE developers retrieve job attributes.

Common Confusions

"Does RTVJOBA work differently for an interactive job versus a batch job?" No. RTVJOBA retrieves the attributes of whatever job the CLLE program happens to be running in, whether that job is interactive or a batch job submitted with SBMJOB; the command itself works the same way either way.

"Do I need to retrieve every job attribute RTVJOBA supports?" No. RTVJOBA accepts only the keyword parameters for the specific attributes a program actually needs, such as JOB, USER, and NBR in the example above, rather than requiring every possible attribute to be retrieved every time.

"Is a job's name the same as the name of the program running in it?" No. A job's name, retrieved with RTVJOBA's JOB parameter, identifies the job itself, which can run one or more programs during its lifetime. This is a different thing from the name of any specific program, such as the CLLE or RPGLE program currently running within that job.

Quick Recap

• RTVJOBA retrieves attributes of the current job into CL variables, such as the job's name, user, and job number.
• Every CLLE program runs inside some job, whether interactive or a batch job submitted with SBMJOB.
• Retrieving job attributes helps build clearer messages or log entries that identify exactly which job did the work.
• RTVJOBA only retrieves the specific attributes named in its keyword parameters, not every possible attribute at once.

Try Asking the AI Tutor

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

• "What are some other job attributes RTVJOBA can retrieve besides job name, user, and job number?"
• "How is a job's name different from the name of the program currently running in it?"