Batch Apex

Dave Helgerson
davehelgerson.com
@davehelgerson

Batch Apex Agenda

High level description of Batch Apex

How to use Batch Apex
Simple Code Examples
Demos in a Salesforce org
Questions

What is Batch Apex?

Batch Apex is a way to process
millions of records on the Salesforce
platform

How does Batch Apex work?

Start by defining a dataset to process
through
Database.QueryLocator
Custom Iterator
List Collection

How does Batch Apex work?

(cont.)

Then, the dataset is divided into

smaller chunks of records
Each chunk of dataset processes as a
separate transaction
Size of each chunk is defined when
submitting the Batch process

How does Batch Apex work?

(cont.)

Finally, after all chunks of the dataset

have been processed, post
processing can be run
Send Emails
Update aggregate totals

How does Batch Apex work?

(cont.)

Define the dataset

Divide and process
Post processing

How does Batch Apex run?

Asynchronously, of course!
Like @future methods or Queueable
Apex

What conditions are ideal for Batch

Apex?
Tasks that involve large datasets or
are processing intensive
Source of data is from a single
database object, and Dataset can be
retrieved with a single SOQL
statement
Each unit of work is independent
Not time-critical

Give me scenarios for Batch Apex

processing

Record Ownership Reassignment

Data Retention
Data Cleansing
Recalculating Apex Managed Sharing
Other Mass Record Update

What does the code look

like?
Class definition implements the
Database.Batchable interface
Three methods are required
start()
execute()
finally()

What does the code look like?

(cont.)

QueryLocator Example

What does the code look like?

(cont.)

List Example

What does the code look like?

(cont.)

Iterable Example

What does the code look like?

(cont.)
Additional Class Attributes
Database.AllowsCallouts
100 callouts per transaction (Winter 15)

Database.Stateful
State is maintained between transactions
Instance member variables retain their values
Static member variables are reset

Scheduable
Combine the scheduling class with the Batch
Apex class
global void execute(SchedulableContext sc){

How do I run a job?

Batch Apex is invoked programmatically
with Database.executeBatch or
System.scheduleBatch
Visualforce page controller
Apex trigger
Ajax Toolkit
Execute Anonymous from Force.com IDE or
Developer Console
Scheduled Job

How do I run a job?

(cont.)

Database.executeBatch
Submits a job to the queue
Parameters:
Instance of the class
Scope (optional)

Example:
Database.executeBatch(new ExampleBatch(),
100);

How do I run a job?

(cont.)

System.scheduleBatch
Creates a scheduled job
Parameters:
Instance of the class
Job name
Time interval, in minutes, after which the job
should start executing
Scope (optional)

Example:
System.scheduleBatch(new ExampleBatch(),
'Test', 5, 100);

How do I run a job?

(cont.)

Job is submitted to the queue

5 jobs can be processing at once
100 jobs can be in the queue at once.
Flex Queue (Spring 15)
Enable in the Apex Flex Queue in Critical
Updates

Job Id is returned
Track progress by the job Id

How do I schedule a job?

Scheduling from the UI
Setup -> Develop -> Apex Classes -> Schedule
Apex button

How do I schedule a job?

(cont.)

Scheduling in Apex
system.schedule()
Name
Cron expression
Instance of Schedulable class

Example:
system.schedule('My Scheduled Job',
'0 15 * * * ?', new ExampleSchedulable());

How do I monitor a job?

Setup -> Monitor -> Jobs -> Apex Jobs

Shows active and completed job

information

How do I monitor a job?

(cont.)
AsyncApexJob
Accessible in Apex

How do I test Batch Apex?

Use Test.startTest() and
Test.endTest()
Asynchronous processes run
synchronously when the
Test.endTest() command executes
The execute() method may only be
invoked once

How do I test Batch Apex?

Considerations Summary
QueryLocator - maximum of 50m records
Custom Iterators - maximum of 50k
records
Governor limits apply to each invocation
of the execute method()
@future methods cannot be called
Timing is determined by Salesforce
5 concurrent jobs can process at once
100 jobs can be in the queue

Demo
Submitting
Scheduling
Monitoring

Questions?

davehelgerson.com
@davehelgerson