Linux

Ask something
Discussion Locked

task scheduler

0 helpful
10 replies

by jaqui

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

which periodic command scheduler do you use?
what strengths does it have over the others?
what areas could it use improvement?

10 replies

by xdark1

I use "at" and "cron", both are execelent tools you can program task to run hourly, a specific day and time month, for a period for example every 2 hours, at is more flexible with time to specify the job,

in cron you have to write 5 field to define a task

The time and date fields are:

field allowed values
----- --------------
minute 0-59
hour 0-23
day of month 1-31
month 1-12 (or names, see below)
day of week 0-7 (0 or 7 is Sun, or use names)

# run a job to 8:00 pm, day 9 ,month 7 (July), day 6 (saturday)

0 20 9 7 6 $HOME/bin/daily.job

or

0 20 9 Jul Sat $HOME/bin/daily.job

with "at" the same task

at -m -f $HOME/bin/daily.job 8pm Jul 9

-m to mail the output

-f file or script to execute

you can use enviroment var like $HOME

if the task is periodic i use cron, if the task has irregular time use at

by jaqui

the 2 that are installed by default, as some apps require one or the other.

what alterations would you like to see in them?

cron, maybe a cleaner scripting setup?

at, a stronger regular task ability?

by tagmarkman

I prefer Cron Jobs o Unix system over at.
On Windows, I'm kinda stuck with the Task Scheduler even though I would like better functionality from time to time.

by jaqui

time to time?

you mean that windows task scheduler can actually function effectively at any time? ;)

by jmgarvin

at is pretty thin to say the least. I just don't user it.

cron is cool, but it needs some spring cleaning. It has a lot of stuff going on with it, but for the most part it is FAR more powerful than at.

by stress junkie

I agree with xdark1. I have no idea why he explained the fields of the crontab file but his assessment of the strengths of each function is right on the mark. Cron is good for jobs that require a regular, predictable schedule. At is good for one time and irregularly scheduled jobs.

by jmgarvin

I still like to keep track of the "one time" tasks...cron is a great way to do it...

Also, typically, my one time tasks are usually something that I can script up to run rather than use at....but to each their own ;-)

This discussion is closed to new replies.