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Re: [PROPOSAL] Cron jobs



On Fri, Mar 12, 1999 at 12:13:57AM -0800, Daniel Quinlan wrote:
> Actually, it's the other way around.  /etc/cron.d requires you to
> understand the crontab format.  /etc/cron.<period> just requires you
> to plop a shell script into a directory.

crontab's format is not that complicated.  The argument has also been
made that anacron enables users/administrators to configure shell
scripts - if you take this position, my response is that shell script 
syntax is far more complex than the crontab format.

> > No.  What is the rationale?  Vixie cron works just fine, except,
> > perhaps that it assumes a box is up 24x7.  If a box isn't up 24x7,
> > why is it so critical to specify anacron?
> 
> The box may not be up 24x7.  We may want to provide a way for cron
> jobs to work on boxes that aren't up 24 hours a day.

Agreed.  I was looking at it from the point of view of a server, which
is up 24x7, and thinking that a user box is not as critical - I'm sure
the user would think otherwise. :-)

> > Leading with my chin, I ask "Have emerged as de-facto Linux standards"?  
> > for whom?  News to me.
> 
> I meant /etc/cron.(daily|weekly|monthly) was a standard, not cron.d.

And that's what I was questioning.  A quick look at the Linux systems I 
use and to which I have access don't have anacron or it's directories.
The argument about following current usage or specifying something 
different has been raised before, though, and I don't want to start it
up again.

> > Noted and agreed.  Is there any value in stating that non-cron-type
> > schedulers should leave /etc/cron.d alone?
> 
> Well, then they would be violating the LSB specification, wouldn't
> they?  (We can specify that the cron software must handle things as
> specified by the cron manuals.)

Mis-read that paragraph.  

-- 
Kurt
Informix on Linux FAQ => http://www.xmission.com/~kwall


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