Running multiple console processes and watching their output

[Yoav]

I need to run multiple console apps in the background and to watch their 
output. I have no idea if this is possible, and I don't even know where 
to start looking. The processes are watchers, meaning that they watch 
folders and mail boxes and do operations on items in them . Essentially 
these are Java command line programs. What  I need is to have them 
running and to take a glance at their console output once in a while to 
parse it. Is it possible? How?

Any idea will help.

Thanks.