[Resolved] path to cron job help please

Dolemite50

Hello,
I am just trying to run a certain php script once a day using Apache/cpanel6. On the server the file is in a subfolder of the www folder called cron.
When I try to use this:
GET http://www.mysite.com/cron/admin_awards.php
I get this in the mail:

GET: not found

From reading up on some posts it looks like I need to use some sort of usr/bin,.. type path but I can seem to find the right one. How can I get this info?

Thanks alot.

LordShryku

Use which php at the command line. Should output the path to the php binary. Then you can specify the full path in cron, or you can use a shebang.

Dolemite50

Ok, you lost me. 🙂
Can you please give me an example of what the actual line would look like?
Do I need to type "ricky martin" in anywhere? 🙂
How do I get to a command line?

thanks alot.

LordShryku

Eh, ok. You need some sort of access to the server beyond ftp. SSH, Telnet...
Once on there, this is what it look like

[root@geeklab www]# which php
/usr/local/bin/php
[root@geeklab www]#

Dolemite50

Thanks again Lord,
I was able to find another post that said I could use:

echo $_SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] ;

to find the path. So I tried adding that line to my admin_awards.php file in the cron folder, and it output this:

/home/kyle/public_html

I then tried to change the path to

http://www.mysite.com/home/kyle/public_html/cron/admin_awards.php

and it didnt work.

I also tried:

home/kyle/public_html/cron/admin_awards.php

and its still not finding it.

Am I on the right track here?

Thanks again.

Dolemite50

Well after searching through about a gazillion google and php builder searches I've gotten nowhere on this one. I'm sure your advice was great Lord, but I think its just over my head. My server admin seems to be completely unreachable at this point so as Richard Gere said in Officer and a Gentleman; "I've got nowhereee elsee tooo gooo".

All of the tutes I found just showed a path and taught you how to change the timing.

Was I even close on my last attempt?

Also, I'm sorry that I asked three questions tonight. I usually just code until I get stuck and then if I cant find an answer in searches, I post here and then move on to more code. Unfortunately I got stuck all over the joint tonight. 🙁

LordShryku

Well, the document root stuff is way off. You want the path to the php binary, not your document, right? First, can you try ssh'ing into the box? I'll assume you're on a Windows box, so get putty and use that. For the hostname or ip part, just put in the base hostname that's in the url (ie. phpbuilder.com). Leave it at port 22, and hit Open. If it asks you for a login, that's good, use you're normal credentials (the one's you're using to access CPanel). If all that get's you in, that's where you would do the which php.

Dolemite50

Thanks alot, I'm getting warmer. I used putty and did
which php' and it says usr/bin/php.
Im still not sure how I apply it. I have tried a few different variations.
So, if the php file that I want to run is on my server as www/cron/thisfile.php, how do I combine the above usr,..path and the next line?

Thanks again.

LordShryku

Two ways, use either one.
1) Shebang. The shebang goes on the very file line of the script and tells the system which binary to use in running the script. It's more commonly used in shell scripting, but can also be used with php. So, in your case, the script would start like this:

#!/usr/bin/php
<?php
/*
 *  Rest of script
 */

Then in the cron setup, you'd just reference the script's full location.

/home/Dolemite/www/cron/thisfile.php

2) Point the binary to the script in the cron setup. Like above, except without the shebang, and the line in the cron setup would be

/usr/bin/php /home/Dolemite/www/cron/thisfile.php

Dolemite50

Hey man,
Thanks alot for the follow through on this. I really appreciate it. Gonna try it now!

Dolemite50

Dang, I'm still getting "file not found". Here is my latest attempt. This is the entire line:

GET /usr/bin/php /home/kyle/www/cron/admin_awards.php

Notice anything out of the ordinary?

LordShryku

Shouldn't need to use GET if CLI is enabled. Try it without that.

Dolemite50

LordShryku, thank you so much. That did the trick. I really appreciate you seeing this one through. Hope I can repay the favor someday. I do alot of Flash stuff if you ever need a favor.

Thanks again,
Kyle