Cron job - can I do this? - PHPBuilder Forums

Cron job - can I do this?

raladin

Hi all,

I want to know if I can make a cron job without getting inside the control panel.
For example, I have a PHP file that sends me a blank E-Mail every time it is executed. I want to execute this file always, when it finishes sending me the email I want it to re-execute the same script and send me the mail again (example).

That means, to execute the same command at any time it is possible.. not to execute it every second.. as it may finishes executing it in less than a second.. so then I want it to re-execute.

Hope the idea is well explained.

BUT AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO ENTER THE CONTROL PANEL TO ADJUST THE CRON JOBS, I WANT THE SAME PHP FILE TO ADJUST THE CRON JOB ITSELF.

Please give me the needed code with an example..

Regards..

dalecosp

while (1) {
   foo();
}

:eek: but why?

raladin

What is foo()?!

Can you please explain it?

Because I'm not able to enter my CP in my hosting company within the coming 14 days (maintenence...) thats why.. and I have my mailing lists program which I made.. to do a loop.. but I can't now adjust cron from server..so I need to adjust it by PHP..

Can you please explain that command foo();?

Like, give m an example please how to use it to se 1 email 5 times using mail()

Regards,
Hadi Aladdin

justsomeone

Hi,

I don't think I really understand what you're trying to achieve...

I want to know if I can make a cron job without getting inside the control panel.
For example, I have a PHP file that sends me a blank E-Mail every time it is executed. I want to execute this file always, when it finishes sending me the email I want it to re-execute the same script and send me the mail again (example).

You've described an infinite loop here. Is that really what you want? To repeatedly execute the same script infinitely...

If so, you can use

while (1){
//do whatever it is you want to do.
//dalecosp just gave foo() as an example
//put your own code in here
}

There are some complications with this. This may well kill your web server, kill your mail server, and flood your inbox.

I can only imagine that this is not what you are trying to achieve.

Like, give m an example please how to use it to se 1 email 5 times using mail()


for ($i=0; $i<5; $i++{
//you will need to replace the line below with your actual mail command.
//but why would you want it to send you the same mail five times in a row?
//I really don't understand
    mail(...);
}

raladin

Thanks alot for you both!

But my question was about how to make a Cron job on the server without accessing the control panel of the webhosting..??

Is it possible?

Regards..

jansky

if you account can access the crontab command YES you can do it without accessing it thru cpanel

raladin

Thanks alot!

But how to add a cron job in PHP if my account supports crontabs??

Can you give me the code example..

Regards..

justsomeone

I don't think there are any cron-related functions in PHP. You may find some third-party libraries out there if you're lucky, but I haven't.

That doesn't mean you're stuck, though. AFAIK, the crontab command only maintains a simple text file. If you know (or can have your sysadmin tell you) the location of this file,you might be able to edit it using normal functions like fopen(), fread(), fwrite() and fclose().

The chances are, though, that the user who runs the apache deamon won't have access to change these files, so you're probably out of luck.

Do you have command line access? That would be the most straightforward way to use crontab.

jansky

DO you know something about linux?

a crontab is a command line
<?
exec ('crontab')
?>

LoganK

I was just about to mention what jansky said. Cpanel only sends the command which creates the cron job. So, in PHP, you just execute the Unix command:

<?php

exec ('command');

// or

command // or echo command if you want the results

raladin

Oh thanks alot for your comments..

But is it possible to create a cron job without accessing the cPanel?

Drakla

raladin wrote:
Oh thanks alot for your comments..

But is it possible to create a cron job without accessing the cPanel?

Yes, it's possible

raladin

How?!

LoganK

I never though I'd quote myself...

LoganK wrote:
<?php

exec ('command');

// or

command // or echo command if you want the results

?>

jtp51

I know this is kind of an older post, but if you haven't solved this by now, take a look at cjpa's Crontab Class at:

http://www.phpclasses.org/browse/package/1985.html

Thanks,