automating a script (hosting company is being a pain)

pahikua

I'm just rying to automate a simple script. Normally I would use the CRON but alas, this particular hosting company won't tell me anything. They won't even answer my question about what OS the server is running. They have disabled about everything possible for 'security' reasons. Security is great but sheesh, I know alot of hosting companies with great security that are not afraid to let their users use SSH. I can't change hosting companies because I'm doing this for someone else.

Anyways, is it possible to set up phpCron if I don't know the server IS, php path and all that.

Many Mahalos

stolzyboy

run a simple

<?
phpinfo();
?>

page, that will tell you what the server is

m_tt

Why not have the host setup your cron?

stolzyboy

did you even read the OP, he is having trouble with them

m_tt

I did read it and the only trouble he seems to be having is that they will not allow him SSH access.

stolzyboy

if they won't give him SSH, they likely won't let him run cron jobs, and if they will let him run cron jobs, they likely won't do it for him, and for him to edit the crontab file to create a cron job, he either needs SSH/telnet, which they won't give him

quite a predicament 'eh

m_tt

So you do the thinking for his host? I'm not trying to create any hostility here but I have dealt with hosts like this before. They refuse to give SSH access due to security issues (poor administration) but they WILL setup whatever crontabs you need. There are no security risks in setting up a script that runs on a timer..

stolzyboy

I realize there are no security issues, but if they can't handle locking their boxes down, they are likely not going to be able to handle a bunch of people running cron jobs on their server, cuz they aren't sure how to optimize *nix, apache, mysql, php, perl, anything regarding the server

pahikua

aparently the can't even handle returning my emails about regarding CRON. I'm trying to think of another way to get a script to fire automatically. A way that doesn't involve the Hosting Comp

majiclab

I don't know of any way to set a PHP script on a set schedule without using cron, however, you might consider running that particular script whenever a page is accessed? Not sure if the script needs to be on a set schedule or not... but maybe it will do to just execute the script whenever a user accesses the site. You could even make it not run more than once an hour using some simple database stuff or something.

-Percy