A cron job is a command, that runs automatically in the background on a predefined period of time and it runs a script within a website hosting account. There aren't any limits in regard to what the script is - PHP, Bash, Perl, etc., what it can do, or what exactly the file extension should be. A few examples are mailing a regular report with all the end user activity within a given site, generating a routine backup or deleting the content within a specific folder. These tasks and / or any other script can be run on intervals chosen by the end user - every couple of minutes, hours or days, and even monthly as well as once a year depending on the particular purpose. Working with cron jobs to automate numerous elements of managing a site saves considerable time and efforts.
Cron Jobs in Shared Website Hosting
The Hepsia Control Panel, that comes with all the Linux shared website hosting, will allow you to set up cron jobs in a couple of simple steps even if you have not used this type of feature before. When you log in and proceed to the Cron Jobs area where you'll be able to create background tasks, you just have to paste the system access path to PHP, Pyton or Perl based on the script that you'll run, type the path in your account for the specific script file and then choose how often your cron job has to be carried out. For the aforementioned, you'll be able to use the standard mode and choose the minutes, hours, days, etc. through uncomplicated drop-down menus, or maybe if you are more knowledgeable, you can use the advanced mode and set the time interval with numbers and asterisks i.e. the standard method that you may have employed with various Control Panels.