Pre-Con Ed: Understanding when and how to use JavaScript at the Event, Application and Job Level

World®
’16
Understanding when and how to use JavaScript
at the Event, Application and Job Level
John Rooney, CA Technologies, Sr. Principal Consultant
MFX36E
MAINFRAME AND WORKLOAD AUTOMATION

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For Informational Purposes Only
Terms of this Presentation

Abstract
A JavaScript can be a powerful tool to automatically adjust Application
and job properties at Event trigger time. There are many areas and
options where a JavaScript can be invoked. This session will go over
some best practices for specifying JavaScripts at the Event, Application
and Job Level along with any limitations for CA Workload Automation
(CA WA) DE.
John P.
Rooney
CA Technologies
Sr. Principal Consultant

Agenda
SOME INFORMATION ON JAVASCRIPTS
WHERE CAN JAVASCRIPTS BE EXECUTED
WHAT ARE THE BUILT-IN UTILITIES
BEST PRACTICE
1
2
3
4
Q & A
SUMMARY5
6

JavaScript is a scripting language
§ CA Workload Automation DE uses Rhino as its JavaScript engine
– written fully in Java and managed by the Mozilla Foundation as open source software
– Rhino 1.6 R2 version
– It is a runtime interpreter which does not get compiled into native machine code and
generally will run more slowly than a compiled language
– Nothing to do when upgrading
§ The server uses JavaScript release 1.5 as its internal scripting language and
conforms to Edition 3 of the ECMA-262 Standard for scripting languages.
– An ECMAScript engine is a program that executes source code written in a version of the
ECMAScript language standard

A good site for JavaScript Syntax – w3schools.com/js

Allow Java calls in JavaScript

Maximum Length of JavaScript

End user security is normally set to READ

What are the 2 main purposes of a JavaScript for
CA WA DE?
§ Used as a pre-processor
– for setting up and/or controlling workload
§ Used as a post-processor
– for setting up and/or controlling workload
– Executing additional processes or integrations

You can use JavaScripts to:
§ Create and manipulate symbolic variables
§ Use server built-in functions
§ Perform comparison, arithmetic, and logical operations
§ Prepare program input and parameters
§ Build decisions into schedules
§ Pass data to other applications

How many places can you invoke a JavaScript?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. 5

You can invoke a JavaScript in the these places
§ The Event definition
§ The Application definition
§ The Job definition
§ In an Alert

Generally two ways to invoke a JavaScript
§ From the JavaScript Repository
– Generally the recommended place
– Can locate where it is being used
§ Embedded In the particular Application, Job or Alert definition
– Useful when moving the Application/Alert from one CA WA DE instance
to another as part of a change management process
– JavaScript not used by other Applications, Jobs or Alerts

How to find where a JavaScript in the Repository is
being referenced?
§ Select Delete for a JavaScript
– Referential Integrity
BUT DON’T DELETE!

What are the built-in Symbolic Prefixes?
§ ESP
– Scope is across all Applications
§ APPL
– Scope is limited to an Application
§ WOB
– Scope limited to a specific Job
§ EVAR
– Scope limited to an Application
– If set in the Event, cannot be overridden in a JavaScript

A quick word about Application Parameters – EVAR
prefixed symbolics
§ Can be used like a Template
– Define multiple Events
§ Resolved at Event Trigger time
§ Can replace the need for a JavaScript

A summary of Prefixes and JavaScript locations
Specifying the
JavaScript to execute
Can set these Prefixed Symbolics
Embedded Repository
Execute one
or many
ESP. APPL. WOB. EVAR.
Event No Yes Many Yes Yes No Yes
Application:
Event Trigger Time No Yes One Yes Yes No Yes
At Job Run Time No* Yes One Yes Yes Yes Yes
Job:
Event Trigger Time Yes Yes One Yes Yes Yes Yes
At Run Time Yes Yes* One Yes Yes Yes Yes
Alert Yes Yes One No No No No
* You can embed a local JavaScript in the Application definition to be invoked by a job at Run time.
You then select the local JavaScript from the Repository in the Job definition.

Order of search preference of defined JavaScripts for
symbolic resolution
1. Job at Event Trigger
2. Application at Event Trigger
3. Event
4. Job at run time
5. Application at job run time
The first place a
symbolic value is found
will be the one used
Last place searched
for symbolic value
NOTE: If you have multiple JavaScripts executing at Event trigger time, be aware of when the Symbolic gets substituted
If it is a symbolic that is necessary to be resolved at Event Trigger,
then the Job Level JavaScript executed at Event Trigger time will take precedence

When to Run the Script: Event Trigger or Run Time
§ You can choose to run a script at Event trigger time or when one or more
jobs run (at run time). When you run the script depends on the kinds of
values you are calculating within the script. Some information is required
at trigger time (when the Application builds) and other information is
required at run time.
– Example, when an Event triggers and the server builds the Application, the server needs
to know which jobs will be run as part of that Application. This means that all run
frequencies need to be resolved at Event trigger time. The server, however, does not
need to know the argument being passed to a UNIX script until the script is ready to run.
This means that arguments do not need to be resolved until run time.
§ Note: If you plan to use a symbolic variable as part of a job name or qualifier, the
symbolic variable must be assigned a value at Event trigger time.

The following Application and job properties must be
resolved at trigger time.
PROPERTIES CA WA DESKTOP CLIENT DIALOG CA WA DESKTOP CLIENT FIELDS
Application name Application properties dialog Name dialog
Default Agent name Application properties dialog Agent dialog
Application run frequency Application properties dialog Run frequency section
Job name and qualifier Job definition Basic dialog Name and Qualifier fields
Job run frequency Job definition Basic dialog Run frequency section
Notifications Job definition Notifications dialog All fields within the Alerts tab
Job resources Job definition Resources dialog All fields
Job time dependencies Job definition Time Dependencies dialog All fields
External job attributes External job definition Basic dialog All fields

The following fields must be resolved at run time
PROPERTIES CA WA DESKTOP CLIENT DIALOG CA WA DESKTOP CLIENT FIELDS
Email addresses New Email Notification dialog To field
Agent specifications Job definition Basic dialog
Agent name, Command to run,
Script/command name, Arguments
to pass, and User ID fields
Environment variables Job definition Environment Variables dialog Name and Value fields
OS/400 environment
specifications
Environment dialog
Library specifications, Job
specifications, and OS/400 exit
program fields
Exit codes Job definition Exit Codes tab Code and Interpretation fields
Trigger conditions for File
trigger jobs
Job definition Basic dialog
Job definition User/Group specifications dialog
File name field
Owner user ID, group, and Monitor
as user fields
Step specifications for SAP
R/3 jobs
Job definition Step Specifications dialog All fields
Agent specifications for
PeopleSoft jobs
Job definition Basic dialog Process name and Process type fields

Specifying a JavaScript in the Event Definition

JavaScript defined in the Event
§ When the Event is Triggered
§ Executes from the JavaScript Repository
§ Can specify that multiple JavaScripts to be executed

JavaScript defined in the Event Scenarios
§ You want to run multiple scripts when the Event is triggered. In contrast, the
Application definition and job definition let you specify only one script using the At
run time option and one script using the At Event trigger time option.
§ Note: Specifying one script in the Event definition is equivalent to specifying the
script in the Application definition using the At Event trigger time option.
§ The script defines or sets values for system-level symbolic variables. The names of
these variables begin with the prefix ESP.
§ The script defines or sets values for Application-level symbolic variables. The
names of these variables begin with the prefix APPL.

Specifying a JavaScript in the Application Definition

Specifying a JavaScript in the Application Definition
Edit local script for jobs to execute the JavaScript at run time

JavaScript defined in the Application
§ Probably the most commonly defined JavaScript is when the
Event is triggered
§ You can specify a Javascript to be executed before each (and
every) job is executed

JavaScript defined in the Application Scenarios
§ The script defines or sets values for symbolic variables that need to be available to
multiple jobs within the Application. These variables can be system-level (the
names begin with the prefix ESP) or Application level (the names begin with the
prefix APPL).
§ The script passes parameters from the Event to the Application.
§ The script determines whether multiple jobs will run.
§ The script generates date and time variables to be used by multiple jobs.
§ The script defines or sets values for job-level symbolic variables. The names of
these variables begin with the prefix WOB. For these scripts, you must select the
At run time option. The script runs when each job in the Application starts to run.

Specifying a JavaScript in the Job definition
Import from a local directory

JavaScript defined in the Job
§ When the Event is triggered
§ Before the job is run
§ Either specification can be from the JavaScript repository or
from an embedded JavaScript in the job definition
§ Create WOB, APPL, ESP, EVAR prefixed variables

JavaScript defined in the Job Scenarios
§ The script sets values for variables used by a single job.
§ The script sets a variable whose value must be confined to a single job (the
symbolic variable is used in multiple jobs but must have a unique value for each
job).
§ The script specifies run criteria for a single job.
§ The script defines or sets values for symbolic variables that begin with the prefix
WOB.
§ The script defines or sets values for system-level symbolic variables. The names of
these variables begin with the prefix ESP.
§ The script defines or sets values for Application-level symbolic variables. The
names of these variables begin with the prefix APPL.

Specifying a JavaScript in an Alert

JavaScript defined in an Alert
§ Execute a JavaScript from the repository or from an
embedded JavaScript in the Alert definition
§ Used to execute commands as part of job post-processing

JavaScript defined in an Alert Scenarios
§ Trigger additional workload automatically
§ Complete an Application when a job is overdue
§ Resubmit a job if it completes with a particular exit code
before a specific time
§ Execute user defined application integrations
– Open up service desk tickets

Use an Alert to pass information about a job when
triggering an Event

Creating a JavaScript
§ Many JavaScripts are only one statement and use built-in
functions to do an action or set a symbolic
§ You do not need to be an expert to start defining a JavaScript
– Lots of examples in the documentation

Documentation
https://docops.ca.com/ca-wla-de/12-0/en/scheduling/javascripts/built-in-functions

Using Content Assist while creating a JavaScript

Some commonly used built-in functions to automate
command execution
§ execCommand(jobname|ALL|SUBAPPL(subApplname),
applnameAndGeneration,action)
§ execTrigger(eventname,ADD|REPLACE,time,NOHOLD|HOLD,
userparameter1,userparameter4,userparameter3,
userparameter2,rootjobs)
§ resetResourceProperty(resourceName,property,count)

Some commonly used built-in functions for Dates
§ daysBetween(startDate,endDate,dateType)
§ daysFrom(date)
§ daysTo(date)
§ genTime(prefix,date)
§ today(scheduleExpression)
§ tomorrow(scheduleExpression)
§ yesterday(scheduleExpression)

Some commonly used built-in functions for Global
Variables
§ decrementVar(name,context)
§ deleteVar(name,context)
§ getVar(name,context)
§ incrementVar(name,context)
§ setVar(name,value,context)

Example JavaScripts that you should have in your
repository
§ Load Event Prefix Global Variables
– loadContext(APPL,'%APPL._eventprefix');
§ Read APPL._ftfile and get filename
– var pos = APPL._ftfile.lastIndexOf('');
– APPL.filename = APPL._ftfile.substring(pos+1);

repository
§ Kill Long Running Job
– execCommand('%WOB._name','%(APPL._name).%(APPL._gen)','ACTIO
N KILL');
§ Self Complete or Force Complete Job from Alert
– execCommand('%WOB._name','%(APPL._name).%APPL._gen','ACTION
COMPLETE');

repository
§ Retrigger same application
– execTrigger('%APPL._event','ADD');
§ TRIGGER EVENT AND PASS USER PARAMETERS
– execTrigger(‘Prefix.Application','','','','%WOB._name','%WOB._qualifier,
'%APPL._name','%APPL._gen');
§ Retrigger same event if time is not 7 pm
– if (WOB._RHH < '19' && APPL._SDATE == WOB._RDATE);
execTrigger('%APPL._event','ADD');

repository
§ Gentime First Day of Current month in YYYYMMDD Format
– genTime('FD','first day of month less 1 month') ;
APPL.first_day_of_month_yyyymmdd = FDYEAR+FDMM+FDDD
§ Today in YYYYMMDD Format
– TODAY = ‘%APPL._SYY%APPL._SMM%APPL._SDD'

repository
§ Set times based on day of the week using If/Else
else if(TDDOWNUM=='5')
{
APPL.Start_batch="5PM";
APPL.Late_end = "5AM tomorrow";
}
{
}
{
}
else
{
}
genTime('TD','today');
if(TDDOWNUM=='1')
{
}
{
}
{
}
{
}

repository
§ Set times based on day of the week using Switch
case '5':
break;
case '6':
break;
case '7':
break;
default:
Start_batch="8PM";
Late_end = "8AM tomorrow";
}
genTime('TD','today');
switch (TDDOWNUM)
{
case '1':
break;
case '2':
break;
case '3':
break;
case '4':
break;

Naming Conventions
§ For some built-in functions, include the function
– Gentime Yesterday
– Reset Resource Availability
– SetVar SubAPPL B
§ Or include the action or outcome
– Retrigger same Event
– Force Complete Job
– Read APPL_ftfile and get filename

Summary
§ JavaScript can provide for passing “up to the moment of job
submission” data to a job
§ JavaScript is extremely useful for post-processing of jobs and
triggering additional processing
§ Storing JavaScripts in the repository and using symbolics in
the commands enables a “write once, use many” scenario

Recommended Sessions
SESSION # TITLE DATE/TIME
MFX23E
Best Practices: CA WLA DE Artifacts to Move Apps
through the Development Lifecycle
11/14/2016 at 4:00pm
Jasmine B
MFX141EL
Lab: Increased Agility and Flexibility with Web Services
for CA WLA DE and ESP
11/15/2016 at 9:30 am
South Seas D
MFX30S Customer Use Case: Real World Automation in Retail
11/16/2016 at 3:45pm
Banyan A/B
MFX136S
Delivering CA Workload Automation from a SaaS
platform
11/17/2016 at 4:30 pm
Jasmine B

Must See Demos
Innovations:
Cross Enterprise
Workload
Automation
CA WLA DE & AE
MF and Workload
Automation
Seamless
Application
Automation
Agents & Advanced
Integrations
MF and Workload
Automation
CA Conversion
as a Service
CA Workload
Automation
MF and Workload
Automation
Modern
Workload
Automation
CA WLA DE
MF and Workload
Automation

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