daily automated table management

krotkruton

I don't think this is really a php or mysql question because I have a feeling the answer will be in a batch file or something of that nature, but I have a website that will be collecting "user destinations" and some other information every day, which then need to be saved so the users can view previous destinations... hope that makes sense.

I think there are two basic methods here and either should work:
1. Create a new table each day and shift out the old table so that the web pages only change information in the new table (meaning that my "connections" file probably has to change)
2. Have a standard table for daily submissions that is backed up at a certain time of day and given a name like "Sep0805" while the standard table is wiped clean.

I'm not sure how clear this is as I'm typing it, probably because I'm not completely sure about what I want and have no idea how to go about starting this, so any tips are appreciated and questions for clarification are welcome.

Thanks,
Brendan

devinemke

why is it necessary to wipe or drop the table every day? if you want to see only data from a certain day or time period then work that into your query logic.

bastien

a cron job would suit your needs

krotkruton

Sorry for the delayed response, had some things keeping me from my computer over the weekend.

In response to devinemke, I'm not sure that I would need to wipe the standard every day, but I think it would be necessary because users are allowed to change their destinations up to a certain time each day... in my head, I can't figure out how to do what you are saying, but I also can't seem to explain why in words... I don't think "timestamping" would work, but at the same time, I can imagine a table that just continues to grow each day by creating new destinations for the current date... again, I don't really know what I need done here, so I'm kinda throwing out ideas and hoping someone catches one and can push me closer to what I need.

In response to bastien, I've heard of cron jobs, but know little about them. I'm running on a windows machine that is not my server because I'm paying for hosting, can I still do cron jobs? I thought I read they were only for *unix machines. Could you point me in the direction of a good tutorial or more information?

bastien

for windows, you ca use 'task scheduler'...goto your control panel

krotkruton

Thanks a lot. I've been so engrossed in php and mysql that my brain just wouldn't think outside of those lines. I'll see if it can do everything I need.
Thanks again.