The CIP4 JDF Editor

Master Project at Nada Evelina Thunell
JDF supports four kinds of process sequences:
• Serial processing, where the nodes are executed sequentially with no overlap.
• Overlapping processing means that a process can start to execute before
another process producing one of its input resources has completely finished
producing them. This is accomplished by using a method called pipes.
• Parallel processing makes it possible to run more than one process at once. A
part of the job is spawned off and executed individually. When the process has
completed, the spawned node is merged back into the job.
• Iterative processing is more suitable for some processes where serial or
parallel processing cannot be used. Iterative processing means that the
production is carried out iteratively in cycles, for example when a page is not
approved and needs to be edited and approved again.
To detect errors in a JDF job, it could go through a test run before it is executed. The
test run could be routed through all the devices and controllers just like it is during
execution. The devices and controllers that receive the job during a test run read and
analyse it without initiating execution.
All nodes and resources have a unique identifier, an ID. This makes it possible to keep
track of individual components of a job. The ID is also used for resource linking. The
creating agent is responsible for providing an ID that is unique within the file as long as
it is used.
The device capabilities description makes it possible for a device to report what parts of
JDF it can and cannot handle. An individual JDF job description can be compared to
the device capabilities of the device. The job can be executed if all job parameters are
within the ranges specified by the device capabilities. [1]
Figure 3.7 shows what the interaction between MIS and production can look like.
Figure 3.7 JDF and JMF workflow interaction [1]
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