How do you make a script run automatically?

Please forgive me if this has been asked before.

Is it possible to have a php script run automatically?

I am talking about the sort of script that handles regular activities such
as issuing invoices, reminders etc? How are these run? Does somebody have to
go in and push a button, do you have to tell the
server to run these scripts at a particular time, or is there another way?

Thanks

Hamilton

.oO(Spidah)

>Please forgive me if this has been asked before.
>
>Is it possible to have a php script run automatically?

With a cronjob (Unix/Linux) or another kind of scheduling mechanismn.

Micha

Michael Fesser wrote:
> .oO(Spidah)
>
>
>>Please forgive me if this has been asked before.
>>
>>Is it possible to have a php script run automatically?
>
>
> With a cronjob (Unix/Linux) or another kind of scheduling mechanismn.
>

....and only if PHP's installed as a CGI (on Unix/Linux).

Ed

Ed Jones <home-newsgroups@edjones.org> wrote:
>>>Is it possible to have a php script run automatically?
>>
>>
>> With a cronjob (Unix/Linux) or another kind of scheduling mechanismn.
>>
>
> ...and only if PHP's installed as a CGI (on Unix/Linux).

BS:
* 0 * * * lynx http://localhost/shedule/this/script.php

Where lynx can be replaced by lots of other commands (like nc, wget,
w3m, curl...)

--

Daniel Tryba

"Spidah" <h.laughland@eggstra.co.nz> wrote in message news:<OJRid.4061$op3.153462@news.xtra.co.nz>...
> Please forgive me if this has been asked before.
>
> Is it possible to have a php script run automatically?
>
> I am talking about the sort of script that handles regular activities such
> as issuing invoices, reminders etc? How are these run? Does somebody have to
> go in and push a button, do you have to tell the
> server to run these scripts at a particular time, or is there another way?

Use PHP 5 which makes it easy to turn a script into a daemon that can
run as a normal service on any computer. Then just write the script as
you would any other computer program, launch it once and it will run
forever. If you want a reminder, just have it keep a list of dates (in
an array, or XML, or a database, or anything else) and it can send a
message to standard output when you need the reminder, or, better, it
can send you an email.

Daniel Tryba wrote:
> Ed Jones <home-newsgroups@edjones.org> wrote:

>>...and only if PHP's installed as a CGI (on Unix/Linux).
>
> BS:
> * 0 * * * lynx http://localhost/shedule/this/script.php
>
> Where lynx can be replaced by lots of other commands (like nc, wget,
> w3m, curl...)
>
Yeah, cool - hadn't thought of doing it like that :-)

Ed

"lawrence" <lkrubner@geocities.com> wrote in message
news:da7e68e8.0411060123.344707f@posting.google.co m...
> "Spidah" <h.laughland@eggstra.co.nz> wrote in message
> news:<OJRid.4061$op3.153462@news.xtra.co.nz>...
>> Please forgive me if this has been asked before.
>>
>> Is it possible to have a php script run automatically?
>>
>> I am talking about the sort of script that handles regular activities
>> such
>> as issuing invoices, reminders etc? How are these run? Does somebody have
>> to
>> go in and push a button, do you have to tell the
>> server to run these scripts at a particular time, or is there another
>> way?
>
> Use PHP 5 which makes it easy to turn a script into a daemon that can
> run as a normal service on any computer. Then just write the script as
> you would any other computer program, launch it once and it will run
> forever. If you want a reminder, just have it keep a list of dates (in
> an array, or XML, or a database, or anything else) and it can send a
> message to standard output when you need the reminder, or, better, it
> can send you an email.

Firstly thanks to everyone who has responded.

How would I go about turning a PHP5 script into a daemon? This sounds like
it could be the solution I need?

Regards

Hamilton

"Spidah" <h.laughland@eggstra.co.nz> wrote in message
> Firstly thanks to everyone who has responded.
>
> How would I go about turning a PHP5 script into a daemon? This sounds like
> it could be the solution I need?

Sams (the publisher) I think has a new book out on PHP 5 which has a
good chapter on running PHP 5 as a daemon. I read most of it the last
time I was in a Barnes and Noble bookstore (I'm in America right now).

There should also be documentation on the www.php.net site, but I
haven't found it. Haven't looked much either.