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Using the Xgrid Command-Line Client

Mac OS X version 10.4 and later includes the xgrid command-line utility. For some applications, the xgrid command-line tool is all the client software you need. In any event, you should become familiar with it to get a better understanding of Xgrid before writing an Xgrid-enabled client application.

The xgrid command-line utility is an Xgrid client. You can submit a job to a controller by typing xgrid followed by the controller’s host name and a job specification.

The job specification includes the name and path of an executable file, such as an application or a shell script, and any arguments to pass to the executable file.

You have the option of supplying an input file or a directory of files. If you supply an input directory, it is copied to each agent and becomes the working directory for the executable file.

You also have the option of specifying an output file or directory.

As each agent completes its task, the standard output and error streams are returned to the controller. You can pipe these streams to files or direct them to the output and error streams of the shell that submitted the job. You can also retrieve any other files created in the agent’s working directory during job execution. These files are returned to the output directory specified when the job is submitted.

Contents:

Basic xgrid Syntax
Running a Job Synchronously
Submitting a Job for Asynchronous Execution
Submitting a Batch Job

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