Cron Vs Pseudo Cron

There are 2 main ways to have scripts run periodically. here we will discuss the differences as well as the pros and cons of each.

Cron

Cron is a system that Unix style operating systems use to periodically run programs and scripts (the comparable program on windows is the task scheduler).

Once cron has been setup to run a script no further user interaction is needed unless you decide to change when the script/program should be carried out.

Advantages

If you set up a cron job you can be sure that unless there are system problems a script will run when expected.

Visitors will not notice any page slow downs.

Disadvantages

You are required to have knowledge of setting up cron jobs

There is the possibility that you do not have access to create a cron job.

Pseudo Cron

Pseudo cron is a system that many scripts implement to mimic cron. When a script is run it checks whether the cron script has been run in the last x amount of time. If in the event the script has not run, it will go ahead and run the script.

Advantages

No setup is required.

Disadvantages

Users may experience slow page loads when a pseudo cron script is being carried out.

The script may not always run as it requires people visiting the page.

So Which Is Best?

Pseudo cron can be useful however if you have a lot of domain names but few visitors many of your domain names will not be updated that regularly.

If you have the ability of running standard cron jobs this would be the best option.