<<It seems reasonable that HP provide such an intrinsic and that it
support programmatically, the functionality one has via the MPE command;
i.e., multiple jobs in a file, errors for jobs that fail, list of job
numbers returned, etc.>>


I have to disagree. Like Gavin, I just don't see where it's appropriate to
ask HP to provide something that is ten times as difficult to produce (and
is also noticeably more difficult for us to use correctly) when a
straightforward one-job one-result version would satisfy 90+% of the need.
As has been pointed out, there is *zero* existing code using this intrinsic,
since it doesn't exist. Anyone who is going to use the new intrinsic will
have to either modify existing code or produce new code. In either case,
they will be in a pretty good position to break up multi-job files into
single-job pieces at the same time.

Alternatively, a third party can produce the whiz-bang multi-job
embedded-:DATA kitchen-sink version that a microscopic fraction of the user
base may legitimately need, and sell it to those few customers. Kind of like
the way database-reorganization, logon security, and system-backup works
today.

Steve


Steve Dirickson         WestWin Consulting
(360) 598-6111  [log in to unmask]