How do you Create a Cron Job

[modernmafia]

i recently bought a site and it has cron jobs but when on my control panel it asks me to put ina command for the cron and i have no idea what to do

[sniko]

I'm familiar with cron jobs at a McCodes level. Basically, you need to create a file, which includes queries/content that you want to be executed every x minutes/hours/days/weeks.

So, say you want something to be executed every day. First we would create a file, something like;

crons/1day_something.php

And this is what the content of that file will look like;

 <?php
/*
* Establish database connection for database queries
* Cron example, 1 day.
*/
$code = "XXX"; /* Change this code, so only you know it, so a 3rd party cannot manually execute the cron */
if(!$_GET['code'] OR $_GET['code'] != $code) {
exit; /* The script will not continue */
}

$message = "This\nEmail\nWill\nSend\nEvery\nDay";
$message = wordwrap($message, 70);

$get = mysql_query("SELECT `email` FROM `user_accounts` WHERE `email`!=""");
while($r = mysql_fetch_array($get)) {
mail("{$r['email']}", "5 Day email", $message);
}

?> 

 

Now we have the file, let's set up the cron.

Now, this will execute the file crons/1day_something.php every day, automatically.

~sniko

[Uridium]

Just to note you dont always need to use a code at the end of a Cron url and even if users manage to find the cron file to run, It still wouldnt work for them as its being called for by a file with a function to actually run the cron

[sniko]

Just to note you dont always need to use a code at the end of a Cron url and even if users manage to find the cron file to run, It still wouldnt work for them as its being called for by a file with a function to actually run the cron

As i said earlier (..and this isn't shouting at you :P) my cron experience comes from McCodes, and if you, for example, go to http://www.a-random-game.com/cron_hour.php?code=code as a user, it still would run. From my experience anyway.

Maybe I interpreted your reply wrong, but you were saying that we don't need a ?code as it wouldn't run anyway? I think it would. Or are you saying, something else?

[Uridium]

Nah didnt think you was shouting at me Sniko and I hope my post didnt come across the same..