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File Trigger Events

You can continuously trigger workload based on file activity. For example, a File Trigger Event can monitor the creation of a file. Whenever the file is created, the server triggers the Event, which runs an Application to process the file. If the file being monitored is updated after a previous trigger, the Event will be triggered again.

Note: To use File Trigger Events, your system requires CA WA Agent for UNIX, Linux, or Windows.

Some usage scenarios of Event-level file triggers include the following:

• A file is created occasionally. Whenever the file is created, an Application needs to run to process the file.
• Transactions are received continuously throughout the day in the form of files written to a series of directories. When a file is received, a job must be submitted. The filename determines the name and executable of the job.
• An Application runs each day at 4 p.m. and also whenever a specific file is created.

File Trigger Events monitor file activity using a polling interval, which is every 30 seconds by default. File Trigger Events do not detect changes that cancel each other out during the polling interval. For example, if the file is created and deleted during the polling interval, the trigger does not occur. Because the file did not exist when the directory was polled, the Event does not detect the file creation and deletion.

Note: The agent administrator can change the number of seconds between polls by configuring the filemonplugin.sleepperiod parameter in the agentparm.txt file. For more information about the filemonplugin.sleepperiod parameter, see the agent Implementation Guide for your operating system.

Example: Comparison of Event-Level and Job-Level File Triggers

Suppose that an Application requires a file to be created before it can run each day. If the file is not created by a cutoff time, the Application should not run. You can use the following approaches for the workload:

• You can schedule an Event to run the Application each day. In the Application, a File Trigger job monitors the creation of the file and is marked overdue at the cutoff time. If the File Trigger job does not complete by the overdue time, a script runs to automatically complete the Application.
• You can use an Event to monitor the creation of the file. This approach is better because the Application builds only when the file is created, and you do not need to code a script.

Note: You can trigger workload based on file creation only. For other scenarios, you can use the Date-Time/Manual Event trigger with the File Trigger workload object.

More information:

Trigger Workload When a File is Created