Help with timestamp code

sks1024

I need a little help with some code for time stamping.

I want to include a page once a day when the page is visited.

My host has cron but it isn't working correctly and they will not help me solve the issue so here I am.

example of what I am trying to do.

Server on West Coast
Users on East Coast

date_default_timezone_set ("US/Eastern");

$current_timestamp = time();

$new_timestamp = add 24 hours to $current_timestamp

if $current_timestamp > than $new_timestamp
include ("page.php");

Thanks in advance

bradgrafelman

If it's something you want run automatically once every 24 hours, it really sounds like setting up a cronjob is the ideal solution. What do you mean by it "isn't working correctly" ?

sks1024

the host says that cron works fine, but I can't get it to work "fine". I can run the exact same command that is in the cronjob from the command line by manually typing it in and it works perfectly. It just won't execute from cron.

It is a simple SELECT statement from a mysql db and its writes output to flat txt file.

bradgrafelman

Can you show us the full cron line you're trying?

sks1024

Here is 1 that I have tried:

0 0 * /usr/bin/wget -F http://www.domain.com/deal_of_the_day.php

Here is another I have tried:

0 0 * /usr/bin/lynx -dump http://www.domain.com/deal_of_the_day.php

bradgrafelman

Er... is the cron job running on the same server where your files are hosting? If so, why are you trying to execute them over HTTP? Why not just invoke PHP directly, e.g.

/usr/bin/php -q /home/domain.com/public_html/deal_of_the_day.php

EDIT: Obviously, the paths to the PHP interpreter and your .php script are just examples and should be modified to fit your host's environment.

EDIT2: Either way, are you viewing the error/output messages from the cron job? If not, why not? You should be logging this information by adding something like the following to the end of the command:

>>/home/domain.com/cronjob.log 2>>/home/domain.com/cronjob_errors.log

or, to log all output and errors in the same file:

2>&1 >>/home/domain.com/cronjob_all.log

EDIT3: Forgot to mention... output redirection syntax may vary depending upon which shell your host is using.

sks1024

will give that a shot. Be right back

sks1024

Same problem
Works manually but not from cron

/usr/bin/php -q public/deal_of_the_day.php

I have set cron by the minute to test it

55 11 * /usr/bin/php -q public/deal_of_the_day.php

58 11 * /usr/bin/php -q public/deal_of_the_day.php

bradgrafelman

You have to use an absolute path; "public/deal_of_the_day.php" only works because you're navigating to the root of your website. Cron is a system job, so it doesn't know that you expect it to start in your personal home directory.

sks1024

so from this

http://www.lighthouseauto.com/phpinfo.php

i get this this

/services/webpages/l/i/lighthouseauto.com/public/deal_of_the_day.php

bradgrafelman

Okay... and? Does that work?

sks1024

No not from cron. I tried to navigate through the filesystem with that path obtained from phpinfo() and that path doesn't exist

PradeepKr

try getting file name using FILE PHP constant. It should give you the absolute path. eg,

echo FILE;

Put it in the file you are trying to run through cron.

1) Make sure your php code is not using any $_SERVER of other global variables. They wont be set when ran through cron job.
2) Check if any error_log file is created in the same folder or not. If yes check for any error or warning. If not, put debug echo statements after every significant line in the php file and check what echo prints.
3) Make sure your php is saved in UNIX format.
4) If still problem persists, try same cron job on another file with simple file having only this <?php echo "HIII"; ?>
Then one by one add lines from your original file and check cron output.