having a page run on the server on an interval

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

08/07/2006 07:05:29 AM · #1

Is anyone able to shove me in the right direction of how to create a page on the server tha executes say once per day.... to update a table for example or something?

what would i search for on google?

David.C

08/07/2006 07:15:22 AM · #2

I believe the easiest way would be to add a CRON (sp?) entry for a linux server or a scheduled task in the Task Scheduler for a Win server.

David

08/07/2006 08:15:43 AM · #3

i have a use a hosting site, so a task scheduler is out of the question i think. :(

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

08/07/2006 08:18:59 AM · #4

ok on second thought, a cron job seems easy to set up with my hosting company. Where it says 'command to run'.. can i just type in a web address there?

David.C

08/07/2006 09:13:31 AM · #5

Probably not what you're wanting.

Running the URL (if it ran) would just load the page at a regular interval - not update the content. If that is what you are wanting, that's fine, but if not...

... you will need a script that updates the page contents when executed. Then just have the cron job execute the script.

Just make sure the script is something small -- the more often it is run, the smaller it needs to be. Cron jobs can bog down a server if run too often or if they run for too long.

David

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

08/07/2006 09:22:32 AM · #6

i was thinking of loading a web page that updated some information in a few mysql tables. I would only need to run the cron job every 6 hours or so, so i don't think it would be a problem with bogging down the server.

dsa157

Canon EOS-50D

08/07/2006 09:43:55 AM · #7

Originally posted by David.C:

... you will need a script that updates the page contents when executed.

If you can't set up cron jobs, you can also have your script check a "lastUpdated" table in your database and compare the stored value against whatever update interval you want to set.

That way, the update happens (if needed) when a visitor actually comes to view the page rather than just every X hours.

Dave