theall@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu (George A. Theall) (01/17/91)
I recently uploaded the following file to SIMTEL20:
pd1:<msdos.sysutl>
CRON12.ZIP Timed command dispatcher; like unix cron.
A description of CRON follows:
CRON is a timed command dispatcher that closely implements all the
features of the UNIX 'cron' utility that make sense in a DOS
environment.
CRON reads a special file at startup, conventionally called CRONTAB,
where each entry defines a time and a command to execute at that time.
All commands are periodic, i.e. one-shot commands are not possible. The
longest period is one year, however, so this is not considered a
problem. In a PC environment, a command with a 1-year period is a one-
shot command for all practical purposes.
After a command has executed, CRON re-calculates its next execution
time, then sorts the command list in time order and waits until the
first command in the list is due for execution. This sequence is
repeated undefinitely (or until the user stops CRON).
CRON optionally logs its activites in a file conventionally called
CRONLOG. The layout of this file is more or less identical to the UNIX
cronlog and conveys the same information. The cronlog maintains an
accurate track of CRON's activities. A startup option is available to
make CRON lock the log file during access, allowing several
workstations on a network to run CRON with a central logfile on the
server.
CRON works well with DESQview. Under DESQview, the background operation
of UNIX cron can be emulated by letting CRON run by itself in a (small)
window. Indeed, CRON was originally developed for use with DESQview.
Although based on UNIX cron, CRON is developed from scratch and
contains no proprietary code.
[ taken from CRON.DOC.] I used this a few weeks ago and it seems to perform
as advertised, though I'm only a unix neophyte.
Enjoy,
George
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theall@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu Dept. of Economics
theall@ssctemp.sas.upenn.edu Univ. of Pennsylvania
gtheall@penndrls.upenn.edu Philadelphia, PA 19104