A multiple task wait system and associated method allow a client
application to wait for multiple tasks to be successfully or
conditionally implemented before running subsequent tasks. Two mechanisms
can be used to accomplish this multiple wait process: The first mechanism
uses a multi-wait grouping process that is visible to the client, and the
second mechanism uses a graphical representation to identify the tasks to
be completed. The multi-wait grouping process allows a client to group a
related set of tasks together for both control and documentation
purposes. The client can add as many tasks as the resources of the
computer allow to a group while defining the data flows and control flows
between the tasks in the group using various graphical tools. The
multi-wait system allows the client to define the constraints and
conditions for a set of tasks to be considered complete, and further
allows the system to define the constraints and conditions for
considering all the tasks within the group to be completed. By utilizing
the group concept, the system can selectively control the tasks to be
included in the completion decision based on predefined rules.