Job steps are units of execution in a Teradata PT job. Using job steps is optional, but when used, they can execute multiple operations within a single Teradata PT job. Job steps are subject to the following rules:
- A job must have at least one step, but jobs with only one step do not need to use the STEP syntax.
- Each job step contains an APPLY statement that specifies the operation to be performed and the operators that will perform it.
- Most job steps involve the movement of data from one or more sources to one or more targets, using a minimum of one producer and one consumer operator.
- Some job steps may use a single standalone operator, such as:
- DDL operator, for setup or cleanup operations in the Teradata Database.
- The Update operator, for bulk delete of data from the Teradata Database.
- OS Command operator, for operating system tasks such as file backup.