When you initiate any dependent process, WFL job, or utility from a MARC session, the TASK command appears as a prompt on the current screen. Entering TASK in the Action field displays the TASKSTATUS screen. This screen displays information about the process and includes a field in which you can enter process control commands. You can leave the TASKSTATUS screen at any time by entering one of the screen traversal commands, such as HOME or GO, that are displayed. As long as the process is running, you can return to the TASKSTATUS screen by using the TASK command.
The TASKSTATUS screen includes fields that display various types of information for the process. The following are the fields and their meanings:
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The Task field displays the mix number and the name of the process.
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The Parameter field, if it appears, displays the value of the parameter passed to the process.
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The Task Status field displays the current stack state of the process. For a discussion of what the stack states mean, refer to Monitoring and Controlling Process Status.
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The Elapsed field displays the time elapsed since the process was initiated.
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The Processor field displays the processor time used by the process.
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The I/O field displays the accumulated I/O initiation time for the process.
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The area below the Elapsed, Processor, and I/O fields displays messages generated by the process, including “BOT”, “EOT”, DISPLAY, and RSVP messages.
You can enter process control commands in the Action field. The list of available actions below the Action field includes the most common system commands used for process monitoring and control. You can enter any of the listed commands without having to prefix them with the mix number of the process; MARC automatically prefixes the command with the mix number listed in the Task field. You can also enter system process control commands that are not listed as actions, but you must prefix them with the mix number of the process. For a list of system commands related to process monitoring and control, refer to Tasking Command Equivalents in this section.
If you submit a WFL job by way of the START screen or the START command, then the process control commands are displayed only during the compilation of the job. However, you can enter these commands even after they no longer appear as prompts, provided that you prefix them with a mix number. You can prefix them with the mix number of the job or of any task initiated by the job. The TASKSTATUS screen continues to display any messages generated by the job as it executes. You can initiate another process as soon as the job has finished compiling and has been inserted in a job queue.
However, if you submit a WFL job by way of the MARC WFL command, the process control commands continue to be displayed as the job executes. Also, it is not possible to initiate new processes until the job terminates.
If you initiate a process that initiates offspring, then any messages created for the offspring are included with the other process messages on the TASKSTATUS screen. You can enter process control commands for the offspring in the Action field, but you must always prefix the command with the mix number of the offspring process.
You can usually learn the mix number of the offspring by looking at its “BOT” message in the process messages display. However, if MARC has scrolled this message off the screen, you can learn the mix number by entering the VIEW command in the Action field. This command causes MARC to display the TASKVIEW screen, which lists the mix numbers and the names of the original process and all its descendants in a hierarchical order.
You cannot enter process control commands on the TASKVIEW screen. You can display the TASKSTATUS screen for a particular offspring by entering the mix number of the offspring in the Action field of the TASKVIEW screen. You can then enter process control commands on that TASKSTATUS screen. Alternatively, you can return from the TASKVIEW screen to the original TASKSTATUS screen by entering the RETURN command in the Action field.
