Hi everyone - it's been some time since i post - hope all is well.

Is it possible to allow a user to set a cron job in PHP?

At the moment, the only way i know how to set a cron-job is to access the C-Panel provided by our host.

So is it possible to do something like this in PHP - my thoughts so far is to have a table which has a timestamp column. When the script is run, it checks if there are any jobs awaiting and processes them.

But how do you get this script to run every minute without upsetting the host?

Your experience is in this field is greatly appreciated.

in simple 2 letter terms, "no" - there is no way to do this, because executing the PHP over and over (looping it) will cause it to timeout anyway, and yes, it would annoy your host! Have you thought about just getting the Cron to execute the script very, say, 10 minutes - this wouldnt upset your server, but may zap your bandwidth a little!

I am feeling the same way. Thanks.

Of couse it's possible. I've done it several times.

1) Create a php file that fetches the data from the table and performs the desired work. Test it first via web and see if everything is fine, once you achive the desired result put it in the cron job in 1 minute

2) /usr/bin/php /home/-your-cpanel-login/public_html/location_of_the_file.php

It will do the work, if for some reason it causes load balance the sysadmin will tell you and you will change let's say form 1 minute to every 30 minutes.

But that should be a problem

Originally Posted by andrade

Of couse it's possible. I've done it several times.

1) Create a php file that fetches the data from the table and performs the desired work. Test it first via web and see if everything is fine, once you achive the desired result put it in the cron job in 1 minute

2) /usr/bin/php /home/-your-cpanel-login/public_html/location_of_the_file.php

I think what fambi wants to do is to have everything in PHP - not using the system's cron jobs. This may not be possible at all.... how would you schedule a php script to execute without cron jobs?

as far as i know, it's impossible - unless of course you have your own dedicated server, in which case i believe you can get the server to execute certain programs for you, such as a php script - other than this it is impossible because the server itself has to call on the PHP script itself. As i said before, executing a PHP over and over will only cause a time out - cron jobs are supplied courtesy of any good provider!