JPH06214903A - Electronic mail interlocking type computer system and job transferring method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a user to find freely the state of an executed result or the executed result state executed by a computer system, and in addition, to acquire the same from an output device desired by the user in a configuration provided with the computer system for executing a job and a general electronic mail system. CONSTITUTION:When a mail processing part 11 in the computer system 1 analyzes the mail sentence of the execution of the job from the electronic mail system 2, and finishes the execution of the job, it sends the mail sentence of the finish of the execution of the job including the success or failure information of the executed result to the electronic mail system 2. The user receiving a report makes it output the executed result of the job by designating the output device 18 to 20, etc., in an answer mail sentence 29. Accordingly, the user can find out the success or failure of the executed result when the job is finished, and can judge whether he should acquire the executed result of the job or not. Besides, the result can be outputted to the output device desired by the users.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer system for executing a job using an electronic mail system, and a method of notifying and outputting a job execution status and job execution result from the computer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a method of using a computer system using electronic mail, as described in (1) JP-A-1-108830, a job executed by the computer system when requested by electronic mail. To register the execution result of the above in the distribution destination mail box, (2) JP-A-64-676
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 72-72, a method of requesting a host administrator to execute a job by electronic mail and distributing an execution result mail from the host computer, (3) JP-A-1-267758
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-242242, there is known a method of requesting a host computer to execute a job or distribute an execution result via an electronic mail system independent of the host computer.

[0003]

By the way, it goes without saying that a job is executed by a computer system using electronic mail and the execution result is obtained again by electronic mail.
It is desired to provide a method of using a computer system that makes the most of information transmission means by electronic mail.

For example, when a job being executed under the computer system is completed, an end notification or an execution result can be obtained by any method desired by the user, for example, a place or a time desired by the user of the electronic mail system. It is desirable that the result of the executed job is output to an output device that has requirements such as output quality.

Alternatively, from the standpoint of each user, it is desirable to be able to know the execution status of the job requested by him at any time and anywhere. That is, the user does not always want to obtain the execution result of the job, but often wants to immediately know the execution status or whether or not the job is normally completed. Then, after confirming the normal end, an attempt is made to obtain the execution result of the job.

On the other hand, from the viewpoint of the system, it differs greatly from a general electronic mail system in that a large amount of data is transferred in order to distribute the execution result of the job in the computer system. The execution result of one job is about 4 megabytes on average. It is desirable to use an e-mail system that does not impose a load on the system while handling such a large amount of data and does not place restrictions on the use of many e-mail system users.

From this point of view, none of the examples disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications disclose how to balance the convenience of the user of the electronic mail system and the reduction of the load on the electronic mail system.

An object of the present invention is to apply / execute a plurality of job executions to a computer system which is a target of job execution.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic mail system and a control method thereof that can properly perform mail communication even if there is a request to output a job execution result, and that does not place a heavy load on a communication device or a memory.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a processing method capable of outputting the execution result of a job executed in a computer system to a specific output device designated by the user from various output devices according to the contents thereof. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is, when an electronic mail is used to cause a computer system to execute a job, a user can freely grasp the execution status or the end status of the job by various methods. To provide a system and its control method.

[0011]

An electronic mail interlocking computer system according to the present invention is a computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system connected to the computer system for controlling the distribution of mails, an electronic mail terminal and various types. Output device. Jobs are submitted to the computer system via the electronic mail system. The computer system sends emails regarding job processing status and job completion status via the electronic mail system. With the completion of the job, the job execution result is temporarily stored in the storage device of the computer system.

The job execution result held in the storage device of the computer system is transferred or output in response to the output request mail sentence for obtaining the job execution result from the electronic mail system side.

According to the first feature of the present invention, the electronic mail system is provided with a processing unit capable of independently obtaining the result of executing the job from the user. This is realized because the output processing means of the job execution result functions independently by the request from the mail text. The output destination of the execution result is specified in the mail sentence. For example, an output device such as a printer or fax connected to a computer system, or a fax device connected to a public network,
For example, a printer or a file device connected to the electronic mail terminal device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the electronic mail system includes a processing unit for inquiring the progress status of the job from the user. On the computer system side, after checking the progress status of the job of the user, the result is returned as mail again.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the monitoring device exists between the computer system and the electronic mail system.
That is, the monitoring device of the computer system has the function of the electronic mail system, and the computer system reports the processing and completion status of the job to this monitoring device. Therefore, the mail exchange with the electronic mail system is entirely performed by this monitoring device.

[0016]

In the electronic mail interlocking computer system of the present invention, the first feature allows the user to specify the optimum output device according to the content of the job and output the job execution result.

According to the second feature, in response to a job execution inquiry from the e-mail terminal, the e-mail system accepts the e-mail once as an e-mail and then sends the inquiry e-mail to the computer system. The computer system and the monitoring device are provided with processing means for recognizing the inquiry mail and immediately returning the progress status of the job. Therefore, the user of the electronic mail terminal can directly check the progress of the job in real time from the electronic mail terminal without opening a dedicated line such as a TSS line with the computer system as in the conventional case. . The end of the job executed in the computer system and the end status thereof are notified to the user of the electronic mail system. This allows the user to determine whether the job has ended normally, in other words, whether the execution result should be obtained. When the user determines that the execution result of the job should be obtained, the user sends a mail message for obtaining the list. In response to this, the job execution result is transferred or output from the computer system to an electronic mail or an output device. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to normally communicate only with a small-capacity mail text, and to suppress the number of times a job execution result involving a large-capacity data is transferred in the system. That is, only the result that the user truly needs is output to the predetermined output means. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the load on the communication device and the memory.

Further, according to the third feature, since the monitoring device is interposed between the computer system and the electronic mail system, the computer system is stopped after the job completion notification is sent to the monitoring device on the computer system side. Even if you do mail exchange between the monitoring device and the e-mail system,
It is possible to notify the end of job execution at any time.

[0019]

【Example】

[Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described. FIG. 1 shows the configuration showing the first characteristic of the electronic mail interlocking computer system of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a computer system for executing a job, 2
Is an electronic mail system connected to the computer system 1 via the public line network 4. Reference numeral 5 is a plurality of electronic mail terminal groups, 6 is a telephone, and 7 is a pager. A spool file 8 stores a job group waiting for execution of jobs executed by the computer system 1 and stores job execution results. Further, 10 is a file for storing a mailbox on the side of the electronic mail system 2, 18A and 18B are printer devices such as a line printer (LP) and a laser beam printer (LBP), 19 is a FAX, and 20A is a spool file 8 This is a file that temporarily stores a list of job execution results, and these are connected to the computer system 1 directly or via the public line network 4.

The computer system 1 includes a CPU and a memory, and an operating system (O
job 12 and mail processing program 13 executed under perating System (OS) 11, control table (Mai)
l Control Table: MCT, Job Control Table: JCT)
14 is stored.

On the other hand, under the electronic mail system 2,
An e-mail engine 15 that implements an e-mail function, a job acceptance notification processing program 16, and a file transfer processing program 17 that transfers an e-mail message, a job execution result list, and the like operate. Further, 20B is a file connected to the main body of the electronic mail system, and 20C is a file connected to the electronic mail terminal 5.

Computer system 1 and electronic mail system 2
And are connected by a dedicated line 21. Email terminal 5
Is an electronic mail system 2 via lines 24, 4, 23
However, the connection may be made directly with a dedicated line without using the public line network 4. On the display screen 33 of the electronic mail system 2, a specific area 34 for displaying the arrival of mail is displayed.
Is provided. Similarly, the telephone 6 is provided with a lamp 6a and the pager 7 is provided with a display portion 7a, which are connected to the public line network 4 via lines 25 and 26.

It should be noted that the electronic mail system 2 does not affect the operation even if there are a plurality of sets having the same function. As described above, when there are a plurality of electronic mail systems, the mail processing unit 13 in the computer system sorts the mail texts. In the following description, the operation when only one electronic mail system exists will be described, but the operation when a plurality of electronic mail systems exist will be described as necessary.

From the electronic mail terminal 5, the user requests the electronic mail system 2 for a job to be executed by the computer system 1. The reception notification processing program 16 of the electronic mail system 2 stores the application contents in the mailbox 10 once, and then the file transfer processing program 17
Is used to transfer the job application mail text to the computer system 1 via the line 21.

Regarding the method of applying for a job using the electronic mail system, Japanese Patent Application No.
Since the application was filed on Mar. 19, 1994 (63060), the details will be replaced by the citation of the above patent application.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a job execution application mail message. The job execution application mail text 29 includes a user ID 29a of the electronic mail system and a notification field 29.
b, JCL flag 29c and JCL sentence file name 29d
d, a JCL sentence data sequence 29df, and a result list output destination designation field 29e. Here, if the JCL flag 29c is '0', the data string following this is the JCL sentence file name 29d, and if it is '1', the data string following this is the JCL sentence data string 29e. Also,
If the value of the JCL flag 29c is "2", the data string following this will be the result list output destination designation field.

This result list output destination designation field 29
The contents of e are as shown in FIG. Ie field 2
9e includes an output device type field 29e1 and a telephone number field 29e2 for fax output. In the output device type field 29e1, as shown in FIG. 3, depending on the value of this field, (1) a laser beam printer (LBP) directly connected to the computer system (2) a line printer (L) directly connected to the computer system
P) (3) Transfer of e-mail text (4) Fax device of e-mail system (5) Line printer of e-mail terminal (6) File device of e-mail terminal ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ (N) ・ ・ ・ etc. Output destination distinction is specified.

The notification field 29b represents the type of request from the user, and has the following meaning according to its value. (1) If the value is "0", the notification unnecessary request (2) If the value is "1", the notification request (3) If the value is "2", the job progress status inquiry (4) The value is "3" If ', the request to obtain the execution result list of the job is shown in FIG. 4 which is one form of the job execution status mail sentence 30 from the computer system 1. 4, the job execution status mail sentence 30 has a user ID 30a and a notification field 30b as in FIG. 2, and further, a job name 30 related to the job of the user in the computer system.
c, job number 30d, time field 30e, and status field 30f. Here, the time field 30e is the date and time when the computer system 1 created the mail text. The status field 30f stores the status of the user's job. Depending on the value, (1) 0 ... No job (2) 1 ... Job acceptance completed (3) 2 ... Job Executing (4) 3 ... Job completed normally (5) 4 ... Job ended abnormally (6) 5 ... Result list output has the meaning.

Further, the abnormal portion display field 30g gives detailed information in the case of abnormal end of a job. For example, there are cases where all are abnormal, and cases where partially normal and partially abnormal execution results are obtained within the same job.
When a partial error occurs, the computer system side identifies the part and displays it as a message.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the mailbox storage file 10 of the electronic mail system 2. The mailbox 10 includes a mail index section 31 and a mail text storage section 32. Mail index section 31
Is the user ID field 31 of the email system
a, a notification field 31 indicating the presence / absence of notification to the user
b, a BFL indicating whether the user is currently active
The G field, the user's telephone number 31d, and the management information CNT31f of the storage location of the mail text. The mail text storage unit 32 has a plurality of mail texts 32.
a, 32b, 32c can be stored.

Referring again to FIG. 1, when the mail processing program 13 in the computer system receives the job application mail message 29 of FIG. 2, it interprets the message data and requests the OS 11 to execute the job. This is done by storing a job execution data string in the spool file 8. Under OS11, spool
The job sequence stored in the file 8 is sequentially taken out and executed as the job 12. When the execution of the job is completed, the execution result is stored in the spool file 8 again, and the control is passed to the mail processing program 13.

The mail processing program 13 creates a job execution status mail sentence 30. At this time, the notification flag 30b
The value of (FIG. 4) is determined based on the value of the notification flag 29b (FIG. 2). Next, the job execution status mail sentence 30 is returned to the electronic mail system 2. The above processing is performed using the control tables MCT and JCT14. The details of the control tables MCT and JCT14 will be described later with reference to FIG.

Upon receiving the job execution status mail text 30, the electronic mail system 2 temporarily stores the mail text in the mailbox 10 of FIG. This contact is dedicated line 2
1 or via the line 23 to the public network 4. Next, the notification flag 30b is checked. If the notification is necessary (the value of the notification flag 30b is "1"), the notification of the e-mail user is attempted. If the user is already active (BFLG in FIG. 5 is “1”), the mail arrival is displayed in the specific area 34 of the screen 33 of the electronic mail terminal 5. At this time, not only the mail arrival is displayed, but also the job end information shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. In particular,
It is information on the job name, end state, and end time.

On the other hand, if the user of the e-mail terminal is not active (BFLG = '0'), the lamp 6a of the telephone 6 is made to blink or the display section 7a of the pager 7 displays the end state of job execution. It is also possible to notify the fax device 19 of the end of job execution.
In the case of notifying the pager 7 or the fax device 19, the job name, the end state, and the end time of the pager 7 and the output sheet of the fax device 19 are displayed as in the case of the electronic mail terminal. Display information etc. When making a call or fax via the public network 4, the telephone number TE in the MINDEX 31 of FIG. 5 is used.
Use L31d.

Next, the user of the electronic mail system requests the electronic mail terminal 5 to obtain a list of job execution results. This means that the value of the notification flag 29b in FIG.
3 ', and the output destination is designated in the result list output destination field 29e. The output device of FIG. 3 can be designated in the result list output destination field 29e. When the job application mail sentence 29 reaches the computer system 1, the mail processing unit 13 takes out the result list of the job of the user from the spool file 8 and outputs it to the designated output device.
That is, the LBP18 directly connected to the computer system
A, if it is an output device such as the printer 18B on the electronic mail side, dial the LBP, if it is the file device 20B, dial the file, and if it is the fax device 19, dial the telephone number 29e2 of the fax device, and a list of job execution results Is output.

FIG. 6 shows the control table MCT shown in FIG.
The structure of JCT, 39 is MCT (Mail Control Tab)
le) and 40 are JCT (Job Control Table). MCT
Reference numeral 39 denotes a notification field 39a indicating whether or not there is a notification to an electronic mail user, a user ID field 39b of the electronic mail system, a user ID field 39c of the computer system, and a job submission number field 39 of the user.
d, a job end number field 39e, and address information 39f to the JCT. The JCT 40 has a job name field 40a and a job number field 4
0b, a time field 40c, a status field 40d of the job, and an abnormal portion display field 40e.

Next, referring to FIG. 7, the mail processing program 13 receives control at the time of mail reception and at the end of job execution. The mail control processing main unit 41 passes control to the corresponding processing programs 42 to 45 according to the request content.

FIG. 8 shows the processing flow of the mail control processing main unit 41. In processing step 41a, it is checked whether the mail is accepted or the job is completed. This depends on where the control comes from. When the job execution is completed, the control is transferred to the job completion processing program 44. If the job application mail 29 is accepted, the processing steps 41b and thereafter are executed. First, in processing step 41b, the notification flag 29a in FIG. 2 is checked. As a result, in the processing step 41c, a job submission request is made, that is, when the value of the notification flag 29a is 0 or 1, the job submission request is made, and the job submission processing program 42 is called.

In the judgment processing step 41d, it is checked whether or not it is an inquiry request (the value of the notification flag 29a is 2), and if so, the state inspection processing program 42 is called. Next, in the judgment processing step 41e, it is inspected whether the result list acquisition request (the value of the notification flag 29a is 3). At this time, the list delivery processing program 45 is called. When these processes are completed, the job execution status mail message 30 shown in FIG. 4 is sent via the line in process step 41f. The processing of the list delivery processing program 45 will be described later with reference to FIG.
2 is used for the explanation.

FIG. 9 is a processing flow of the job input processing program 42. First, in the processing step 42a, as shown in FIG.
Check the JCL flag 29c of. When it is judged in the next judgment processing step 41b that the file name is input (the value of the JCL flag 29c is 0), JC of FIG.
The file name 29dd of the L statement (Job Control Language) is stored in the spool file 8. On the other hand, if it is not a file name input, processing step 42d
The JCL sentence data string 29df is stored in the spool file 8 as it is. As a result, the OS 11 executes the job 12 later.

In the processing step 42e, M shown in FIG.
Each entry of CT39 and JCT40 is completed. That is, (1) distinction between notification unnecessary / notification request in the notification flag 39a (2) storage of the email user ID 30b (3) storage of the user ID 39c in the computer system (4) setting of the number of jobs submitted by the user (5) The number of jobs completed by the user is set, and further, (6) job name 40a and job number 40b are stored in JCT 40, (7) job reception time 40c is stored, and (8) status field 40d value is received (0) is the processing.

The value of the status field 40d has the same meaning as the status field 30f of FIG. In the next processing step 42f, the message data for the mail sentence 30 of FIG. 3 is created (the value of the status field 30f is 1), and the control is returned to the mail control processing program 41.

FIG. 10 is a processing flow of the job end processing program 44. In processing step 44a, MCT3
9 is searched and an entry equal to the computer system user ID of the completed job is located. Notification flag 3 of the entry located in the next judgment processing step 44b
9a is checked to check whether there is a notification request. When the notification request is made, the value of the notification flag 30b in FIG. 4 is set to 1 in the processing step 44c. On the other hand, if the notification request is not made, the notification flag 30 is sent in the processing step 44d.
The value of b is 0.

At the next processing step 44e, the MCT 39
Modify the value of each field of the relevant entry of. Here, the number of completed jobs 39e is incremented by one. Processing step 4
In 4f, the JCT 40 entry is modified. Specifically, the value of the time field 40c is corrected to the execution end time of the job, and the value of the status field 40d is also corrected. Here, the value of the status field 40d is 3 if the job is completed normally, and 4 if it is abnormally ended. In the case of abnormal termination, the abnormal part display field 4
Information indicating an abnormal portion is put in 0e. Processing step 44
At step g, the mail sentence 30 with the message data shown in FIG. 4 is created and the control is returned to the mail control processing program 41.

The user can also use the electronic mail terminal 5 to check the progress status of the job being executed in the computer system 1 or the execution of which has been completed.

FIG. 11 is a processing flow of the job status inspection processing program 43 shown in FIG. This processing program 43 operates when an inquiry request is made from an electronic mail user. At this time, the value of the notification field 29b of the job application mail sentence 29 is "2".

In the processing step 43a, the user ID 39 equal to the user ID 29a of the job application mail sentence 29 is displayed.
Search b from MCT 39. Judgment processing step 43b
And the user ID 39b equal to the user ID 29a is M
If not present in CT39, the process ends. If there is an entry with the same user ID, the entry is located and the OS 11 is requested to inspect the job status of the user in processing step 43c. At the processing step 43d, based on the status report from the OS 11, FIG.
A mail sentence 30 including the message data of is created. Here, in this process, the value of the notification field 30b is always' because it is a response mail to the inquiry request.
1 ', that is,' notification required '.

As described above, the value of the status field 30f is such that if the value (1) is 0, the job of the user does not exist, (2) if the value is 1, the job is being accepted, and the value (3) is Is 2, the job of the user is being executed, the value of (4) is 3 means that the job of the user has ended normally, and the value of (5) means that the job of the user has ended abnormally.

With the status field 30g,
In the case of abnormal termination, it is possible to know which part of the job is abnormal.

The user can determine whether or not the execution result of the job should be obtained from the information on the end state.
Even if it ends abnormally, you may want to obtain it depending on the content. When the user desires to obtain the job execution result, he or she can use the electronic mail terminal 5 to send a mail text for obtaining a list of the execution results of the jobs executed in the computer system 1. At this time, the output destination can be changed.

FIG. 12 is a processing flow of the job execution result list delivery processing program 4 shown in FIG. In the branch processing step 45a, the branch is performed according to the contents specified in the output device field 29e1 for outputting the job execution result shown in FIG. A laser beam printer (LBP) / line printer (LP) whose output device is connected to the computer system 1.
In the case of 18A, after executing the processing step 45c, the processing step 45p is executed. In this processing, the execution result of the job of the user is taken out from the spool file 8 and immediately the result list is output to the designated output device. Next, in processing step 45p, the mail sentence 30 of FIG. 4 is created. The value of the status field 30f at this time is "5".
And means'result list output '.

When the fax machine 19 is designated to output the job execution result, the processing steps 45f to 45i are executed, and then the processing step 45p is executed. First, in process step 45f, a list of execution results of the user's job is taken out from the spool file 8 and temporarily stored in the output file 20A. Again, after the result list stored earlier in the processing step 45g is taken out from the output file 20A, the telephone number of the designated telephone number field 29e2 (FIG. 3) is dialed and the fax machine 19 of the output destination is connected. . In the next process step 45i, the list of job execution results is transferred to the fax machine 19.

Next, in the processing step 45p, the job execution status mail sentence 30 is created. At this time, the value of the status field 30f becomes "5", which means "result list output". In addition, the telephone number field 29 of the fax machine
If the telephone number to which the electronic mail terminal device 5 is connected is designated as the value of e2, the list of job execution results is directly displayed on the display screen 33 of the electronic mail terminal 5.

In the case of a request to transfer the job execution result list by the mail sentence 30 (the value of the output device field 29e1 of FIG. 3 is "4"), the processing step 45m, the processing step 45n, and the processing step 45p are executed. To be done.
The processing step 45m is the same as the previous processing step 45f. At process step 45n, the execution result list of the job of the user is taken out from the output file 20A and transferred to the electronic mail system 2 as a mail text. Next, in the processing step 45p, the job execution status mail sentence 30 is created. Status field 3 at this time
The value of 0f is "5", which means "result list output". A list of job execution results is displayed in the e-mail system 2.
When the mail text 30 is transferred to, the mail text 30 is temporarily stored in the mailbox 10 of the electronic mail system 2.

The storage format is shown in FIG. For example,
The mail text 32b becomes a list of execution results of the user's job. As a result, the user of the electronic mail system can display the job execution result on the display screen 33 of the electronic mail terminal 5 or can store it in the file devices 20B and 20C connected to the electronic mail system side. .

In the above processing steps, after the list of execution results of the job of the user is taken out from the spool file 8 in the processing steps 45f and 45m, it is once stored in the output file 20A. This process may be omitted and the process may immediately proceed to the next process.

FIG. 13 is a processing flow of the reception notification processing program 16 of the electronic mail system 2. When control is passed from the email engine 15, first, processing step 1
At 6a, it is checked whether it is received from the e-mail user.
If the reception is from the e-mail user, the processing steps 16b to 16d are executed. In the processing step 16b, the message data 32a of the mail text or the like is taken out from the mailbox 10 shown in FIG. Next, the message data 29 (FIG. 2) is completed and sent to the computer system 1 as a mail text. On the other hand, when it is determined in the determination processing step 16a that the email is not received from the e-mail user, that is, when a mail text is received from the computer system 1, the job execution status mail text 30 received in the processing step 16e is temporarily sent to the mailbox. Store in 10. In the next decision processing step 16f, the notification field 30b of FIG. 4 is checked. If the value of the notification field 30b is 0, that is, if the notification is unnecessary, the process ends.

On the other hand, when the value of the notification field 30b is 1, that is, when the notification request is made, the control is transferred to the notification processing program 46. FIG. 13 is a processing flow of the notification processing program 46. In process step 46a, it is determined whether the email user is currently using the email system. This can be done by checking the BFLG 31c in FIG. In the determination processing step 46b, the user is active, that is, the value of BFLG31c of the user is "1".
If so, the data of FIG. 4 is sent to the electronic mail terminal 5 in the processing step 46c. As a result, the job execution end summary is displayed in the specific area 34 of the display screen of the electronic mail terminal 5.

If the user is not using the electronic mail system, processing steps 46d to 46f are executed. That is, processing step 46
The telephone number TEL31d of the user is retrieved at d,
Try to contact. This will contact the phone or pager. In the case of pager, the contents of FIG. 4 are transferred subsequently. If the telephone number registered in the telephone number TEL31d is a fax machine, the fax machine is notified.

[Embodiment 2] In addition to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the computer system 1 and the public line network 4 are directly connected by a dedicated line. As a result, the list of job executions processed in the computer system 1 does not pass through the electronic mail system 2 and is directly sent to the electronic mail terminal 5 and the output device 18.
B, 19, 20C, etc. can be output. With such a configuration, a large amount of data can be output to a desired output device without imposing a burden on the electronic mail system 2.

[Third Embodiment] Next, in a third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 15, a monitoring device 3 is provided between the electronic mail system 2 and the computer system 1 in a logical and physical manner. Intervene in. The monitoring device 3 includes an OS control unit 36, a mail control program 37, and a communication buffer CBF38. The job application mail text 29 from the electronic mail system 2 is sent to the monitoring device 3 via the lines 23 and 27.
And is temporarily stored in the central mailbox 9 of the monitoring device 3. The structure of the central mailbox 9 is the mailbox of the electronic mail system 2 (branch mailbox) 1
It may be the same as 0. Then, the email sentence 29
Is sent from the monitoring device 3 to the computer system 1 via the line 28 and processed by the mail processing program 13A having an interface function. The process from job acceptance to completion is the same as the process in the first embodiment.

When the job execution processing in the computer system 1 is completed, the computer system 1 reports to the monitoring device 3 that the job execution is completed. This reporting method may be notified from the mail processing program 13A described above, or the monitoring device 3 may constantly monitor the job group executed in the computer system 1. Furthermore, the computer system 1 may report to the monitoring device 3 only when the job execution is completed. Monitoring device 3
Upon receipt of the job execution completion report from the computer system 1, creates the job execution status mail sentence 30 shown in FIG. 4 and sends the mail to the electronic mail system 2. After that, the same operation as that of the first embodiment is performed.

As described above, even if the computer system 1 is systematically stopped on holidays due to the presence of the monitoring device 3, the user of the electronic mail system can check the job execution status at any time. You can check. When a plurality of electronic mail systems 2 are connected to this system, the monitoring device 3 collects and distributes the mail texts from the respective electronic mail systems.

Next, the processing of the mail control processing program 37 in the monitoring device 3 will be described. FIG. 16 shows a processing flow when the job execution status mail text 30 arrives from the computer system 1, and FIG. 17 shows a processing flow when the job application mail text 29 arrives from the electronic mail system 2.

First, referring to FIG. 16, in the processing step 37a, the message data of the mail sentence 30 is taken out from the communication buffer CBF38. At processing step 37b, the mail sentence 30 is temporarily stored in the central mailbox 9. In the next processing step 37c, the mail sentence 30
Check the notification field 30b. If there is a notification request (the value of the notification field is '1'), processing step 37
At d, the message data is taken out from the central mailbox 9 and transferred to the electronic mail system 1.

The processing when the job application mail text 29 is received from the electronic mail system 1 is shown in the processing flow of FIG. First, in processing step 37h, the mail sentence 2
9 (FIG. 2) message data is obtained. The message data is transferred to the computer system 1 in the next processing step 37i.
Send to. As a result, the same processing as in the first embodiment is performed by the mail processing unit 13A in the computer system 1. In processing step 37j, a response from the computer system 1 is waited for. Message data (FIG. 4) of the mail sentence 30 is sent from the computer system. At this time, the value of the status field 30f becomes "1", which means that the job is accepted. In the next processing step 37k, the message data is transferred to the electronic mail system 2 as the mail text 30.
When there are a plurality of electronic mail systems 2, the monitoring device 3 relays these electronic mail system groups and the computer system 1. That is, the monitoring device 3 plays the role of the main station between the electronic mail systems, and shares the mail exchange process with the computer system 1.

[Embodiment 4] This embodiment is different from Embodiment 3 shown in FIG. 15 in that a line 22 for connecting the computer system 1 and the public line 4 is provided as shown in FIG. To do. In this example, the job execution result list in the computer system 1 can be directly transmitted and output to an output device or an electronic mail terminal designated by the user.

As is apparent from the above-described embodiments, according to the present invention, the user of the electronic mail system automatically executes the job executed by the computer system from his electronic mail terminal device. You can know that, and you can immediately get a list of execution results of the job. Further, it is possible to freely know the progress of the job being executed.

[0069]

As described above, according to the present invention, the user of the electronic mail system immediately outputs the execution result of the job of the user to the output device desired by the user when the job applied to the computer system is completed. You can

Further, even when the location where the TSS line is not connected, the completion of the job execution is automatically notified to the designated output destination, and the success or failure of the result can be known, so that it is executed by the computer system. Since the completion of the execution of the job can be immediately known and the execution result of the job can be immediately acquired, there is an effect that the use of the computer system becomes more familiar. Further, the user can know the end of the job together with the success or failure of the execution result of the job. Therefore, it is only necessary to obtain the execution result of the normally completed job, and it is not necessary to place an excessive burden on the communication means and the memory of the electronic mail system. Further, it is not necessary to input a command for status inspection in a conventional TSS terminal or the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of an electronic mail interlocking computer system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a format of a job execution application mail message in the system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing details of a result list output destination of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a format of a mail text from the computer system shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mailbox in the electronic mail system of FIG.

6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control table in the computer system of FIG.

7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a mail processing program in the computer system of FIG.

8 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the mail control processing program of FIG.

9 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the job input processing program of FIG.

10 is a diagram showing a processing flow of job execution end notification processing of FIG. 7;

11 is a processing flow of the job status inspection processing program of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a processing flow of the job execution result delivery processing program of FIG. 7.

13 is a processing flow of a reception notification processing program of the electronic mail system of FIG.

14 is a processing flow of the notification processing program of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a system configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

16 is a processing flow when a mail text arrives from the computer system of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a processing flow when a mail text arrives from the electronic mail system of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a system configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Computer system, 2 ... E-mail system, 3 ... Monitoring device, 4 ... Public network, 5 ... E-mail terminal, 6 ... Telephone, 7 ... Pager, 8 ... Spool file, 9 ...
Central mailbox, 10 ... E-mail system mailbox, 11 ... Operating system, 12 ...
Job, 13 ... Mail processing program, 14 ... Control table, 15 ... E-mail engine, 16 ... Job acceptance notification processing program, 17 ... File transfer processing program, 18 ... Printer, 19 ... Fax device, 37 ... Mail control program

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshio Hirosawa 1-280, Higashi Koikeku, Kokubunji, Tokyo, Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsutomu Ito 1-280, Higashi Koikeku, Kokubunji, Tokyo Hitachi, Ltd. Central Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Motohide Kunizai 1-280 Higashi Koigokubo, Kokubunji City, Tokyo Hitachi, Ltd. Central Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Koji Ueoka 1-280 Higashi Koikeku, Kokubunji, Tokyo Hitachi Central Research Co., Ltd. In-house (72) Inventor Yoshikazu Ichikawa 6-81 Onoue-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. In-house (72) Fujio Fujita 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi Software Development Co., Ltd. In headquarters (72) Inventor Yama Masashi Kishi 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Inside the Hitachi, Ltd. software development headquarters (72) Inventor Masahiko Ishimaru 6-81 Onoe-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. In-house (72) Invention Hidenami Namba 504-2 Shinano-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Nititsu Electronic Service Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shigeru Sasaki 6-81 Onoe-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. In-house (72) Inventor Michio Hirano 6-81 Onoue-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kaoru Uezuma 6-81 Onoe-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. In-house ( 72) Inventor Noriyuki Nakamura 6-81 Onoe-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. In-house

Claims (28)

[Claims] 1. A computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, a plurality of output devices connected to the computer system and the electronic mail system, and a communication line for connecting these devices. In a job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system, when an electronic mail system requests a computer system to execute a job via a communication line, and when the execution of the job is completed in the computer system, the execution result of the job In the storage device of the computer system, the computer system notifies the request source electronic mail system of the end of execution of the job, and the output instruction from the electronic mail system receives the notification of the end of execution of the job. Based on the execution result of the job stored in the storage device, A method of transferring a job in an electronic mail interlocking computer system, characterized in that the job is transferred to one of the storage devices. 2. A computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, a computer system and a plurality of output devices connected to the electronic mail system, and a computer system and an electronic mail system. In a job transfer method including a monitoring device connected in between, the monitoring device is relayed to request execution of a job from the electronic mail system to the computer system, and the monitoring device executes the job in the computer system. The job is monitored by the computer system, and when the execution of the job is completed in the computer system, the execution result of the job is held in a storage device of the computer system, and the monitoring device is relayed to the computer system and the computer. A job execution end mail message with the requesting e-mail system and a message that responds to the mail message A job execution result output request email is transmitted / received, and the execution result of the job held in the storage device is transferred to the plurality of job execution results based on the output instruction from the electronic mail system that has received the notification of the end of execution of the job. A job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system, characterized in that the job is transferred to one of the output devices. 3. A computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, a plurality of output devices connected to the computer system and the electronic mail system, and a communication line for connecting them. In a job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system, when an electronic mail system requests a computer system to execute a job via a communication line, and when the execution of the job is completed in the computer system, the execution result of the job Is stored in the storage device of the computer system, the execution end of the job is notified from the computer system to the requesting e-mail system, and the plurality of the plurality of e-mail systems are notified from the e-mail system that has received the execution end notification of the job. One of the output devices is designated as an output destination, and the storage device is based on the output instruction. Job transferring method in the electronic mail-linked computer system, characterized by transferring the execution result of the job held in the instruction output device. 4. A computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, a computer system and a plurality of output devices connected to the electronic mail system, a computer system and an electronic mail system. In a job transfer method including a monitoring device connected in between, the monitoring device is relayed to request execution of a job from the electronic mail system to the computer system, and the monitoring device executes the job in the computer system. The job is monitored by the computer system, and when the execution of the job is completed in the computer system, the execution result of the job is held in a storage device of the computer system, and the monitoring device is relayed to the computer system and the computer. A job execution end mail message with the requesting e-mail system and a message that responds to the mail message A job execution result output request email is sent and received, and one of the plurality of output devices is instructed as an output destination from the electronic mail system that has received the job completion notification, and based on the output instruction, A job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system, wherein an execution result of the job held in the storage device is transferred to the instruction output device. 5. A computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, a plurality of output devices connected to the computer system and the electronic mail system, and a communication line for connecting them. In a job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system, when an electronic mail system requests a computer system to execute a job via a communication line, and when the execution of the job is completed in the computer system, the execution result of the job Is stored in the storage device of the computer system, the end status of the job is notified from the computer system to the requesting e-mail system, and the job execution is executed from the e-mail system that is notified of the end status of the job. The result output request is instructed and stored in the storage device based on the output instruction. Job transferring method in the electronic mail-linked computer system, characterized by transferring the execution result of the job to one of said plurality of output apparatuses. 6. A computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, a computer system and a plurality of output devices connected to the electronic mail system, and a computer system and an electronic mail system. In a job transfer method including a monitoring device connected in between, the monitoring device is relayed to request execution of a job from the electronic mail system to the computer system, and the monitoring device executes the job in the computer system. The job execution result is retained in the storage device of the computer system when the execution of the job is completed in the computer system, and the completion status of the job is requested from the computer system. Notify the original electronic mail system and relay the monitoring device to the computer system and the The job from the electronic mail system that has sent and received a job end status mail message and a job execution result output request mail in response to the mail text to and from the requesting e-mail system, and has received the job end status notification A request to output the execution result of the job, and based on the output instruction, the execution result of the job held in the storage device is transferred to one of the plurality of output devices. Job transfer method in the system. 7. A job execution result output request from the electronic mail system, wherein the electronic mail system generates a mail text of an output instruction including information designating an output device for outputting the job execution result. 4. The electronic mail interworking according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the mail text is sent to the computer system, and the execution result of the job is output to an output device designated based on the instruction of the mail text. Transfer method in a distributed computer system. 8. A method of outputting the execution result of the job according to an output destination instruction from a user of the electronic mail system that has received the notification of the completion of the job execution, wherein the execution result of the job is sent from the computer system by a mail message. To the electronic mail system, store the execution result of the job in a mailbox in the electronic mail system, and store the execution result of the job in a file connected to a mail terminal of the electronic mail system. A job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 1 or 2. 9. A method of outputting the execution result of the job according to an instruction destination of an output destination of the job execution result from the electronic mail system which has received the notification of the completion of the job execution, wherein the execution result of the job is communicated from the computer system to the communication line. 3. The job transfer method in the electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 1, wherein the job is directly output to a mail terminal device of the electronic mail system via the. 10. An apparatus for outputting the execution result of the job in response to a job execution result output request from the electronic mail system, wherein the execution result of the job is output to an output device connected to the computer system. Claim 1 or 2
A job transfer method in the described electronic mail interlocking computer system. 11. A job execution result list output request from the electronic mail system, wherein the execution result of the job is output from the spool file of the entire computer system. 3. The job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 1, wherein the job is taken out and immediately sent to the output device. 12. A method for outputting the execution result of the job according to an output destination instruction from a user of the electronic mail system, which has received the notification of the completion of the job execution, wherein the execution result of the job is mailed from the computer system. To the electronic mail system, store the execution result of the job in a mailbox in the electronic mail system, and store the execution result of the job in a file connected to a mail terminal in the electronic mail system. 5. The job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 3 or 4. 13. A method of outputting the execution result of the job according to a job execution result output destination instruction from an electronic mail system that has received the job execution end notification, wherein the execution result of the job is transmitted from the computer system to a communication line. 5. The job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 3, wherein the electronic mail is directly output to a mail terminal device of the electronic mail system via the. 14. A method of outputting the execution result of the job in response to a request to output the job execution result from the electronic mail system, wherein the execution result of the job is output to an output device connected to the computer system. Claim 3 or 4
A job transfer method in the described electronic mail interlocking computer system. 15. A method of outputting the execution result of the job in response to a job execution result output request from the electronic mail system, wherein the execution result of the job is obtained from the spool file of the entire computer system. 5. The job transfer method in the electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 3, wherein the job is taken out and immediately sent to the output device. 16. The method of transferring a job in an electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 5, wherein the notification of the end status of the job includes information on normal end and abnormal end of the job. 17. A method of outputting the execution result of the job in response to an output instruction from the user of the electronic mail system that has received the notification of the job end state, wherein the execution result of the job is sent as a mail text from the computer system. Sending to the electronic mail system, storing the execution result of the job in a mailbox in the electronic mail system, and storing the execution result of the job in a file connected to a mail terminal in the electronic mail system. 6. The job transfer method in the electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 5. 18. A method of outputting the execution result of the job according to a job execution result output instruction from the electronic mail system that has received the notification of the job completion state, wherein the execution result of the job is transmitted from the computer system via a communication line. 7. The job transfer method in the electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 5, wherein the job is directly output to a mail terminal device of the electronic mail system via the electronic mail system. 19. A method of outputting the execution result of the job in response to a job execution result output request from the electronic mail system, wherein the execution result of the job is output to an output device connected to the computer system. Claim 5 or 6
A job transfer method in the described electronic mail interlocking computer system. 20. A method of outputting the execution result of the job in response to a job execution result output request from the electronic mail system, wherein the execution result of the job is obtained from the spool file of the entire computer system. 7. The job transfer method in an electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 5, wherein the job is taken out and immediately sent to the output device. 21. A computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, a plurality of output devices connected to the computer system and the electronic mail system, and a communication line for connecting them. In an electronic mail interlocking computer system, a monitoring device is interposed between the computer system and the electronic mail system, and the monitoring device monitors the job executed by the computer system, and the computer system and the electronic mail. An electronic mail interlocking computer system comprising a processing means for relaying a mail text to and from the system. 22. A computer system comprising a computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, and a communication line for connecting these, wherein the electronic mail system requests the computer system to execute the job. A monitoring device is interposed between the computer system and the electronic mail system, and the monitoring device includes processing means for monitoring and controlling the operation of the computer system, and processing means for the electronic mail system. An electronic mail interlocking computer system, comprising processing means for relaying a mail text relating to the job between an electronic mail system and the computer system. 23. A computer system for executing a job, a plurality of electronic mail systems for delivering documents, and a communication line for connecting these are provided, and the electronic mail system requests the computer system to execute the job. In the system, a monitoring device is interposed between the computer system and the plurality of electronic mail systems, and the monitoring device includes processing means for monitoring and controlling the operation of the computer system, and processing means for the electronic mail system.
An electronic mail interlocking computer system, comprising: processing means for allocating a mail text related to the job between the electronic mail systems and the computer system. 24. A computer system for executing a job, an output device connected to the computer system, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, an electronic mail terminal and an output device connected to the electronic mail system, An electronic mail interlocking computer system comprising: an output device connected to the electronic mail terminal, wherein the electronic mail terminal of the electronic mail system requests the computer system to execute the job. In response to a request to obtain the execution result of the job from a mail terminal, a mail sentence for requesting output of the job execution result to one of the plurality of output devices is generated, and the mail sentence is transferred to the computer system. The computer system includes a spool file that holds the execution result of the job; Email linked computer system, characterized in that the output device specified by Lumpur statement equipped with a processing means for outputting the job execution result of the spool file. 25. A computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, and a plurality of output devices, wherein the computer system comprises a user name of the computer system and the electronic mail. Storage means for storing data of correspondence between system user names, spool file for holding the execution result of the job executed in the computer system, and execution of the job A search means for searching the contact information of the user who requested the job, a notification means for notifying the contact information of the user of the electronic mail system together with the completion status of the job, and the job from the electronic mail system. And a means for outputting from the spool file to the output device in response to an output request of the execution result of E-mail-linked computer system. 26. A computer system for executing a job, a plurality of electronic mail systems for delivering documents, and a plurality of output devices, wherein between the computer system and the first and second electronic mail systems. The intervening monitoring device, the spool file that holds the execution result of the job when the execution of the job being executed in the computer system is completed, and the first file requesting execution of the job in the computer system Search means for searching the user name of the electronic mail system, and the monitoring device once relays the mail message from the computer system to the user to the effect that the execution of the job is completed, and the monitoring device Processing means functioning as a branch of an electronic mail system, and execution of the job from the second electronic mail system to the first electronic mail system Processing means for delivering an e-mail message indicating completion of the job, and e-mail from the e-mail system based on an instruction to output the execution result of the job from the first e-mail system in response to the notification of completion of execution of the job Command means for receiving a sentence by the monitoring device and for instructing the computer system from the monitoring device, and processing means for the computer system to output the execution result of the job to the designated output device based on the command. An electronic mail interlocking computer system characterized by being provided. 27. A computer system for executing a job, an electronic mail system for delivering documents, and an electronic mail terminal connected to the electronic mail system. Execution of a job from the electronic mail terminal to the computer system. In the one that requests, the electronic mail system generates a mail text of a job execution status check from the electronic mail system in response to a query of the execution status of a job in the computer system from the electronic mail terminal, The computer system further includes a first processing unit that transfers the mail text to the computer system, the computer system checks the execution status of the job to generate a status mail text of the job, and sends the status mail text to the requesting electronic mail terminal. An electronic mail interlocking computer system comprising a second processing means for sending an electronic mail. 28. The second processing means is executing a job of the user based on the status mail text of the job and the status of the job in the computer system, the job is completed normally, or 28. The electronic mail interlocking computer system according to claim 27, wherein the electronic mail interlocking type computer system according to claim 27 is configured to select one of the mail texts indicating that the job ends abnormally and generate the job status mail text.