# qmsg

## PROLOG



           This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The
           Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the
           corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or
           the interface may not be implemented on Linux.
    


## NAME



           qmsg — send message to batch jobs
    


## SYNOPSIS



           qmsg **[** -EO**]**_message_string job_identifier_...
    


## DESCRIPTION



           To send a message to a batch job is to request that a server write
           a message string into one or more output files of the batch job. A
           message is sent to a batch job by a request to the batch server
           that manages the batch job. The _qmsg_ utility is a user-accessible
           batch client that requests the sending of messages to one or more
           batch jobs.
    
           The _qmsg_ utility shall write messages into the files of batch jobs
           by sending a _Job Message Request_ to the batch server that manages
           the batch job. The _qmsg_ utility shall not directly write the
           message into the files of the batch job.
    
           The _qmsg_ utility shall send a _Job Message Request_ for those batch
           jobs, and only those batch jobs, for which a batch _job_identifier_
           is presented to the utility.
    
           The _qmsg_ utility shall send _Job Message Request_ s for batch jobs in
           the order in which their batch _job_identifier_ s are presented to
           the utility.
    
           If the _qmsg_ utility fails to process any batch _job_identifier_
           successfully, the utility shall proceed to process the remaining
           batch _job_identifier_ s, if any.
    
           The _qmsg_ utility shall not exit before a _Job Message Request_ has
           been sent to the server that manages the batch job that
           corresponds to each successfully processed batch _job_identifier_.
    


## OPTIONS



           The _qmsg_ utility shall conform to the Base Definitions volume of
           POSIX.1‐2017, _Section 12.2_ , _Utility Syntax Guidelines_.
    
           The following options shall be supported by the implementation:
    
           **-E** Specify that the message is written to the standard
                     error of each batch job.
    
                     The _qmsg_ utility shall write the message into the
                     standard error of the batch job.
    
           **-O** Specify that the message is written to the standard
                     output of each batch job.
    
                     The _qmsg_ utility shall write the message into the
                     standard output of the batch job.
    
           If neither the **-O** nor the **-E** option is presented to the _qmsg_
           utility, the utility shall write the message into an
           implementation-defined file. The conformance document for the
           implementation shall describe the name and location of the
           implementation-defined file. If both the **-O** and the **-E** options are
           presented to the _qmsg_ utility, then the utility shall write the
           messages to both standard output and standard error.
    


## OPERANDS



           The _qmsg_ utility shall accept a minimum of two operands,
           _message_string_ and one or more batch _job_identifier_ s.
    
           The _message_string_ operand shall be the string to be written to
           one or more output files of the batch job followed by a <newline>.
           If the string contains <blank> characters, then the application
           shall ensure that the string is quoted. The _message_string_ shall
           be encoded in the portable character set (see the Base Definitions
           volume of POSIX.1‐2017, _Section 6.1_ , _Portable Character Set_).
    
           All remaining operands are batch _job_identifier_ s that conform to
           the syntax for a batch _job_identifier_ (see _Section 3.3.1_ , _Batch_
           _Job Identifier_).
    


## STDIN



           Not used.
    


## INPUT FILES



           None.
    


## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES



           The following environment variables shall affect the execution of
           _qmsg_ :
    
           _LANG_      Provide a default value for the internationalization
                     variables that are unset or null. (See the Base
                     Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, _Section 8.2_ ,
                     _Internationalization Variables_ the precedence of
                     internationalization variables used to determine the
                     values of locale categories.)
    
           _LC_ALL_    If set to a non-empty string value, override the values
                     of all the other internationalization variables.
    
           _LC_CTYPE_  Determine the locale for the interpretation of sequences
                     of bytes of text data as characters (for example,
                     single-byte as opposed to multi-byte characters in
                     arguments).
    
           _LC_MESSAGES_
                     Determine the locale that should be used to affect the
                     format and contents of diagnostic messages written to
                     standard error.
    
           _LOGNAME_   Determine the login name of the user.
    


## ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS



           Default.
    


## STDOUT



           None.
    


## STDERR



           The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.
    


## OUTPUT FILES



           None.
    


## EXTENDED DESCRIPTION



           None.
    


## EXIT STATUS



           The following exit values shall be returned:
    
            0    Successful completion.
    
           >0    An error occurred.
    


## CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS



           In addition to the default behavior, the _qmsg_ utility shall not be
           required to write a diagnostic message to standard error when the
           error reply received from a batch server indicates that the batch
           _job_identifier_ does not exist on the server. Whether or not the
           _qmsg_ utility waits to output the diagnostic message while
           attempting to locate the job on other servers is implementation-
           defined.
    
           _The following sections are informative._
    


## APPLICATION USAGE



           None.
    


## EXAMPLES



           None.
    


## RATIONALE



           The _qmsg_ utility allows users to write messages into the output
           files of running jobs. Users, including operators and
           administrators, have a number of occasions when they want to place
           messages in the output files of a batch job. For example, if a
           disk that is being used by a batch job is showing errors, the
           operator might note this in the standard error stream of the batch
           job.
    
           The options of the _qmsg_ utility provide users with the means of
           placing the message in the output stream of their choice. The
           default output stream for the message—if the user does not
           designate an output stream—is implementation-defined, since many
           implementations will provide, as an extension to this volume of
           POSIX.1‐2017, a log file that shows the history of utility
           execution.
    
           If users wish to send a message to a set of jobs that meet a
           selection criteria, the _qselect_ utility can be used to acquire the
           appropriate list of job identifiers.
    
           The **-E** option allows users to place the message in the standard
           error stream of the batch job.
    
           The **-O** option allows users to place the message in the standard
           output stream of the batch job.
    
           Historically, the _qmsg_ utility is an existing practice in the
           offerings of one or more implementors of an NQS-derived batch
           system. The utility has been found to be useful enough that it
           deserves to be included in this volume of POSIX.1‐2017.
    


## FUTURE DIRECTIONS



           The _qmsg_ utility may be removed in a future version.
    


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