help with cron/scheduled tasks

mg542

Im running my site on a web server(www.tripod.co.uk), and want to add something so that every hour the variable $gold = $gold($workers3.1) +($banks*30); and the way to do this is cron jobs from what ive gathered from searching google. BUT not only haven't i found a good tutorial, but I haven't found a single example taht isn't with CGI or a download....is there anyway i can do this with or without cronjobs?

dalecosp

Where does this variable, $gold, exist?

mg542

well its a database value

dalecosp

So, your script might be something like:

$qry="update sometable set gold=gold*($workers*3.1) +($banks*30)";
$res=mysql_query($qry);

and your crontab entry would be:

01        *         *         *      *    /path/to/php -q /path/to/yourscript

Of course, there's a *little* more to it than that, but you can get started there, I'd think....

mg542

well my main problem is not what the cron tab would be, its that since i use an internet host, how would i set up the cron tab in the first place 🙁

jazz_snob

Does the hosting company provide a control panel? Usually they have some crontab management within the control panel.

mg542

#
Site building tools

* WebBuilder
* WebFTP
* FrontPage
* PHP4U
* Site Catcher
* Lycos Stats
* Add-ons

thats all there is on the CP...nothing to do with crontabs

dalecosp

Umm, yeah. Tripod isn't exactly New York Internet, Interland, Rackspace, etc.

I could tell you my theory that "bandwidth and IP addresses must be liberated from the establishment", but you might not be able to pull it off so easily. I have 2 boxen that have been "liberated", and hope to find more some day. Root access, etc. A good thing, IMHO.

I suppose you are left with putting the code in some PHP/HTML page and calling it from some machine under your control:

*/1    *      *      *      *   /usr/local/bin/lynx -dump http://mysite.tripod.com/secret_update.php?action=goldupdate

Something similar should be possible on Windows --- I know you can call "explorer URI" from the command line....

mg542

so your just saying i should make a program called crontab.php and shove
/1 * /usr/local/bin/lynx -dump http://mysite.tripod.com/secret_update.php?action=goldupdate
into it?
Someone suggested to me to make a timestamp inb the DB and every time someone logs in it checks if any of the stamps are over an hour, and if they are, it updates taht provinces gold based on its current values...does this seem like it'd work and if so who would i do it?

dalecosp

No, I was suggesting you use cron(8) and lynx(1) to assist you with your problem, unless you are using Windows, in which case you'd need a batch script and "Task Scheduler".

As for the other option, the old saying is "there's more than one way to skin a cat." Use whatever is best for you and your situation. If you want me to do a feasability study, it's $nnnn.nn and 3 months waiting.... 😉

If you use the DB/timestamp idea, you'd have to also account for the possibility that there might be several consecutive hours during which no one would log in. It might be preferable to use this method, though; if it's a gaming site (and it sounds like it is), and someone finds your "secret.php" and bumps it more than once an hour, they might win, eh?

Of course, you could get round that with a secret "key" that would have to be in the URI, or whatnot.

As for timestamps, there are UNIX timestamps available from PHP (see [man]time/man, for example), or native SQL timestamps (see the docs for your particular breed of SQL server....)

mg542

well i'd like to use cron, but since its a free web host, im quite sure it wouldn't be compatible, and thats what i was asking in the first place...if i'd need any programs or cron compatibility to use it, and the answer seems to be yes.