GetJobAttributes

GetJobAttributes is a function used in job management systems and APIs to retrieve metadata about a specific job. It typically requires a job identifier or handle and returns a structured set of attributes describing the job’s properties and state. In many implementations, the function accepts an optional list of attribute names to limit the result; if no list is supplied, all supported attributes for the job type are returned.

The return value is commonly a map or dictionary from attribute names to values, often accompanied by a status indicator and error information if the retrieval fails. Attribute values may be strings, numbers, timestamps, booleans, or nested structures for resources and configurations. The exact schema can vary by system and version, but the data generally aims to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the job.

Commonly exposed attributes include: id, status, priority, user, group, project, queue, submissionTime, startTime, endTime, wallTimeLimit, runTime, nodes, nodeList, cpuCount, memoryLimit, memoryUsed, wallTimeUsed, exitCode, reasonForFailure, dependencies, environment, and workingDirectory. Some implementations also expose resource requests and usage, such as GPUs or specialized accelerators, as well as provenance information like submission method and related job dependencies.

GetJobAttributes is used for monitoring dashboards, automation tools, and schedulers to display status, enable filtering and alerting, or inform scheduling decisions. It should enforce permissions, returning only attributes permitted for the caller, and may distinguish between coarse-grained and fine-grained attributes or employ versioned schemas to maintain backward compatibility.

See also: ListJobs, GetJobStatus, WatchJob, and corresponding API documentation for the specific job management system.