In the cron job cPanel "Standard" interface there is this:

"Standard Cron Manager This is a web interface to the crontab program. It allows you to run commands at any time you specify. Enter the command you would like to run as well as running times.

Please enter an email address where the cron output will be sent:
[ MySite ]

NOTE: You will receive a message every time this job runs. Using your main e-mail address is not recommended.
Your cron MUST produce an output or you will not receive an email.

Entry 1 Command to run:
[ ] "

Now my question is this: What exactly is an "output"?
For example if the PHP file I tell the crontab to run simply echos results, is THAT "output"? Does it need to be formatted into HTML tags? What if the file that I run generates an automated mail message of its own? I`m a bit confused.

Never used cron jobs before but I`d like to create one that sends me a report at the end of each day telling me what records (if any) users have added to a database.

What is an output:
You run a command in a Windows command line window, such as dir, which prints output on the screen containing the contents of the current directory (folder). This directory listing is the output that will appear in your email.

In Linux, you open the Terminal and enter a command on the command line. I just used the dir command. It listed all of the files and folders in my home directory. If you set a cron job to run the dir command every day at 5 PM, then you will get a daily email listing all of the files and folders in the current or specified directory. If a command runs but does not print information on the screen locally, it does not send you an email if it is set to run as a cron job.

Originally Posted by L a r r y

If a command runs but does not print information on the screen locally, it does not send you an email if it is set to run as a cron job.

So from this can I assume that if my php file consists of this:

<?php echo "Hello world" \n "Hello world again"; ?>

I would get the following in my cron job email report:

Hello world
Hello world again



??