FAQ

uSched Frequently Asked Questions

• What is uSched?
• What does uSched mean?
• How can I install it?
• Where does it run?
• In what languages is it developed?
• Where can I get help?
• What can I do with uSched that I can't with Crontab?
• Can I (or should I) replace the Crontab with uSched?
• Why should I need it?
• Where can I find the documentation?
• How can I make my WebApp run a routine periodically?
• How can I contribute to the project?

What is uSched?

• A free and open source command-line scheduler with an almost-natural language interpreter, delivering remote management and an intuitive programming interface for multiple programming languages.
• More details can be found at the uSched Homepage

What does uSched mean?

• It means uCodev Scheduler. If you never heard of uCodev, take a look at the uCodev Homepage.

How can I install it?

• See the INSTALL.txt file or check the fast track.

Where does it run?

• Virtually anywhere, but not currently tested everywhere. It was designed to run on every known Operating System, although it has some limitations on Microsoft Windows and only the uSched Client will be able to run. Full support for Microsoft Windows will be available as of version v0.7.

In what languages is it developed?

• Mainly in C.

Where can I get help?

• Check the Getting Help section on the project Wiki.

What can I do with uSched that I can't with Crontab?

• Easily integrate it in your applications through the client library, allowing you to manage scheduled commands on local and remote machines. It currently supports C, Python, Java, PHP and C#.
• It will also allow you to setup intervals lesser than 1 minute (currently 1 second is the minimum supported interval on uSched, but it'll be lowered in future versions up to miliseconds).

Can I (or should I) replace the Crontab with uSched?

• No. Don't do that. They are different things with different purposes. Both can live happily together.

Why should I need it?

• Ever needed to run commands in periodic intervals for auditing, monitoring, synchronizing, and so on? Imagine that you can do it without editing the crontab nor scripting a loop. Now imagine that you can also easily set when do you want to stop the procedure and that you can do it all on local or remote machines. You can also create your own deployment script to setup uSched entries in hundreds of servers in no time.

Where can I find the documentation?

• You can access the uSched documentation in HTML and PDF formats.

How can I make my WebApp run a routine periodically?

• Import or load the corresponding uSched module into your WebApp.
• $usc->Request("run 'wget http://your.web.app/your_routine.php' now then every 1 hour");
• Now the your_routine.php will be fetched right now and then every 1 hour, forever (or until you stop it).
• More examples regarding the usage of the uSched API can be found here.

How can I contribute to the project?

• See here.