What is a job?

A job is the basic unit of work on the AS/400.Every activity on the AS/400 is done as part of a
job. Each job is a single , identifiable sequence of processing actions that represent a single use
of the system.
Attributes of a job:
Job number:The job number is a unique system generated sequential number
Job Name :Job name is any user defined name. For certain jobs, the system assigns a job
name which is usually the name of the corresponding job description.
User Name:User name attributed with a job is the name of the user who initiated the job.
The combined usage of the job number, job name and user name uniquely identifies a job in the
system.
Job Description:
A job description is a collection of parameters that control the job when it is started in the
subsystem. The advantage of using a job description is that once it is defined you can use it
anywhere just by referring to the job description name whenever you want to start job.
Subsystem
A subsystem is single predefined operating environment in which the system coordinates the
work flow and resources. Subsystems are specific user defined job partitions of the CPU where
various jobs may be executed. The system is shipped with a set of IBM supplied subsystems
which may be modified if required. One subsystem may have more than one job active at a time.
Job Queues
Job Queues are streams where jobs wait for execution. Job queues are attached to specific
subsystems. One subsystem may have more than one jobq attached to it.
Output Queues
Output queues are streams where output from the jobs wait to be processed. It is a place to hold
the output spooled files created by jobs.

Type of Jobs
Interactive jobs:
An interactive job starts when the user signs on to the machine and lasts until
user signs off. A job is created by the system to interactively react to the users responses and
thus is called an interactive job.
Batch jobs:

A Job is called a batch job when a series of actions submitted to a job queue
for execution in one single job stream.
Spooling job:
A spooling job can be for input or output.In an input spooling job ,a system
program called a reader transfers job from the input device such as a diskette or database file.
For output spooling , the job puts the output from a program into a spooled file , later the
spooled file can be written to an external device such as a printer.
Autostart job:
A autostart job is always associated with the subsystem , and whenever the
subsystem is started the autostart job is started as well.