XMM-Newton Science Analysis System


sas (gui-1.52.9) [xmmsas_20141104_1833-14.0.0]

Meta Index / Home Page / Using tasks

Running multiple tasks

For interactive processing, it is normal to run one task at a time. However, once a task has started, you can open a parameter dialog to configure the parameters in preparation for running the next task. If you press the Run button before the previous task has finished, you will be given the option of running the task immediately or queuing it for later execution:

• Immediate execution is appropriate if the tasks make use of separate files, so that they may be run in parallel.

• You should use queuing if the tasks form a processing chain, where each task makes use of output from the previous task.

  The next queued task is started automatically, when all currently running tasks have finished. Tasks are logged when they are started.

When a task is started, or queued for later execution, the parameter values are saved along with the task. Consequently, editing the parameters and queuing a second instance of a task will not affect the parameters of a task that is already running or queued.

However, you should take the following considerations into account:

• Changing global preferences which affect a task, such as the setting of the ODF directory, will affect all queued tasks which have not yet started.
• The kill command stops the last task started. It is only possible to kill an earlier task by killing all later tasks. This command can not be used to remove a pending task from the queue
• If a queued task fails, the remaining tasks in the queue are still executed.