How to: Email

How do I submit a job using email?

Job requests can be submitted by emailing LISSY at postbox@lisdatacenter.org through most email software (Outlook, Thunderbird, Eudora, etc.).

A job submission via email consists of standard statistical programs written by the user. However, in order to ensure system security, three requirements must be met in order for LISSY to properly process jobs, regardless of the programming language used.

  • All emails must be sent in ASCII/plain text format. Users must ensure that this option is enabled in the chosen email package.
  • All job instructions must be written inside the body of the email and not as an attachment.
  • Each job must start with a specific four-line header at the very beginning of the email body:
*user = <userid>
*password = <password> (case-sensitive)
*package = <statistical package used> (SAS, SPSS, Stata)
*project = <project accessed> (LIS or LWS)

Notes:

  • We highly encourage the use of the Job Submission Interface especially if you are unable to properly configure your email in ASCII/plain text format.
  • The asterisks at the beginning of each of the header lines are mandatory. If the header contains an error, LISSY does not process the job request. Instead, it returns an email to the address from which the job request was submitted along with the following error message:

The header of the job you have sent is wrong

your original header :

*user     = <WRONGUSERID>
*password = <wrongpassword>
*project  = LIS
*package  = SAS

→ the user ID and/or password is not valid
→ you do not have the authorization to access the microdata

Job Handling

Following the first four lines, users provide standard statistical batch programs bearing in mind the LISSY language-specific requirements. See Job Submission to learn about the details for each of the three statistical packages.

Correctly-submitted jobs are automatically processed by LISSY. The resulting output will be returned to the user at the email address registered with LIS, even if the job request is sent from a different email address.

Warnings
Submitting more than one job at a time can result in significant delays. Please check the results of each program before sending the next one.