A writer is an i5/OS™ program that takes spooled files from an output queue and produces them on an output device. The spooled files that have been placed on a particular output queue will remain stored in the server until a writer is started to the output queue.
The writer takes spooled files one at a time from the output queue, based on their priority. The writer processes a spooled file only if its entry on the output queue indicates that it has a ready (RDY) status. You can display the status of a particular spooled file using the Work with Output Queue (WRKOUTQ) command.
If the spooled file has a ready status, the writer takes the entry from the output queue and prints the specified job or file separators or both, followed by the output data in the file. If the spooled file does not have a ready status, the writer leaves the entry on the output queue and goes on to the next entry. In most cases the writer will continue to process spooled files (preceded by job and file separators) until all files with a ready status have been taken from the output queue.
The AUTOEND parameter on the start writer commands determines whether the writer continues to wait for new spooled files to become available to be written, end after processing one file, or end after all spooled files with ready status have been taken from the output queue.