At the heart of any scheduling platform is the ability to design what you want to run. The Design module in WLOADCTL supports both dragging and dropping your way through dependency chains or writing job definitions in code.
In this post, I'll walk through the layout and core functions of the Design module.
Design example
Example description
Consider a simple ETL workflow: A file watcher waits for an incoming flag file. Once the file arrives, an ETL job is triggered, followed by an Oracle stored procedure. Additional DataStage jobs then execute in parallel.
Although the workflow is small, it demonstrates the core concepts of dependency management, event triggering, and parallel execution:
| Program Name | Program Type | Program Entry Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| filewatch1 | filewatch | /home/myfile/fileisok.flg |
| dsjob1 | datastage program | $(workspace)/etl/dsjob1 |
| oraproc1 | oracle stored procedure | pkg.procdure1 |
| dsjob2 | datastage program | $(workspace)/etl/dsjob2 |
| dsjob3 | datastage program | $(workspace)/etl/dsjob3 |
Create a new flow
To get started, click the + icon directly in the control container to create a new flow in TCC Design tab.
Graphical design mode
The graphical designer allows users to build workflows visually by dragging job types from the toolbox onto the canvas.
Dependencies can be defined directly during node placement. Jobs can be arranged in parallel branches or connected through predecessor-successor relationships. It helps make complex execution chains easy to understand and maintain.
By clicking the Design button in the upper right side, you can see the graph of your flow. When adding job nodes to a workflow, drag the corresponding job type directly from the toolbox to the workflow diagram on the right.
Note: When dragging to a node, you can select the direction:
Top - Parallel relationship
Bottom - Parallel relationship
Left - Predecessor dependency relationship
Right - Successor dependency relationship
Edit job node properties
As shown in the table above, each job has their own properties, such as entry parameters, environment setting and more. the panel on the right provides a clean interface to configure them. Switch between Basic and Advanced modes depending on how much control you want.
Code design
While visual design is ideal for most workflows, large-scale scheduling environments often require version control, bulk editing, and automated deployment.
To address these scenarios, WLOADCTL provides Module Code Design, a code-based workflow definition language inspired by structured XML syntax. Users can switch seamlessly between graphical and code views, enabling both low-code and code-centric workflow development.
Timer
Timers allow workflows to run automatically based on predefined schedules and it is commonly use in cases include:
Daily ETL processing
End-of-day settlement
Weekly reporting
Monthly reconciliation You can enter the main module view to start designing.
In the timer view, parallel groups are used to organize jobs. You can either drag a group from the left toolbox into the node tree on the right, or simply click the + button on the canvas to add one.
After creating a group, you'll need to set the execution frequency for jobs in advance. In the Job Properties panel, switch to the Advanced tab, locate Time Schedule, and click the > icon to configure the schedule.
Compile
Job control containers can only be published to the Monitor working environment for scheduling after successful compilation. You can see the compilation results in the console.
Conlusion
The Design module is where workload automation begins.
Whether you are mapping out ETL workflows, scheduling system admins routine batch processes and coordinating DevOps teams complex deployment chains. In this platform, all settings are within the same interface. You can find more information in Design panel detailed tutorial
Once the design is done, you might need a monitoring module to track your jobs and projects, and that's how modern workload automation works.
Top comments (0)