Method and apparatus for polling job status on a mainframe system

A computer system for polling job status, the system comprising:

• a workstation;
• a host;
• and
• a program, wherein in response to a generation of a job to be executed on the host from said program, the job is logged on a job queue for execution on the host, whereupon in response to execution of the job, a directory command template is repeatedly executed on the workstation, generating a directory listing of the job queue of the host upon each execution, until a specified indication appears on the job queue, the specified indication appearing on the directory listing only when the job is completed.

A computer readable medium containing a program for performing a method of polling job status on a computer system, the computer system including a workstation and a host, wherein a job generated on the workstation is to be executed on the host, comprising the steps of:

• a) accessing a directory command template;
• b) editing the directory command template;
• c) executing the directory command template on the workstation, thereby providing directory listings of a job queue of the host;
• and
• d) repeating steps a) through c) until a specified indication is found on the directory listing of the job queue, the specified indication appearing on the directory listing only when the job is completed.