4 ms·

For most people, the URLs these jobs are hitting will be calling code that they themselves have written, is that right? If so, since I'm writing a bunch of cod

by tlianza 15y ago

For most people, the URLs these jobs are hitting will be calling code that they themselves have written, is that right? If so, since I'm writing a bunch of code to do work, the marginal cost of dropping a call to that code into cron is awfully low. I'm not sure why I'd bother creating another username and password in an external system, much less pay for it, to provide such a small amount of incremental value. I'd understand if the idea was to offer the power of cron to the non-techie laymen, but I'm not getting the sense that's the target. The "you don't have to worry about [foo] because we manage it for you" value proposition only makes sense when foo is hard to manage. And, for techies who can edit a crontab in 3.2 seconds, this might even be a step backwards in terms of productivity.

icebraining 15y ago
You're assuming you have access to cron on the machine that code is running. Lots and lots of websites are running on shared hosting, where there's no such thing as cron access.
- 18pfsmt 15y ago
  This is the perfect example of something that could be run on an always-connected, dual-core Atom machine (~$200) sitting in one's office. I don't understand the insistence on using a paid monthly service for something so simple. My crappy consumer router at home runs cron jobs.
  - meiji 15y ago
    Well the problem with that is, what happens when the atom machine dies. Or the ISP cuts you off? People outsource services not because they can't make a cheap version themselves but because it can be a hassle.
    - 18pfsmt 15y ago
      Ok. What happens when the 3rd party service is acquired and shuts down, or shuts down due to lack of funds? I've got several machines that have been running non-stop for 3-5 years, and I've had several services I've relied on that have shutdown after being acquired, so there seems to be a need for a backup solution either way. People that derive their income from providing 3rd party services seem to have a bias in favor of 3rd party services for everything. Edit: Why am I not surprised to learn that you work for a hosting provider? I'm not trying to pick on you, I've just noticed a trend that makes little sense to me.
      - citricsquid 15y ago
        I'm not the person you're replying to, but someone that disagrees with you. I run multiple servers, at this minute there's 8 web servers online and 1 mysql server. Each server has a different purpose, some are long term and some are short term (taken offline after purpose served). Having to manage the cron jobs running on each server is a pain, having 8 servers all running different things is fine if you have the time and want to save money, but for me I'd rather pay $20 a month and outsource it to someone else. It's the same reason I use Postmark (http://postmarkapp.com http://postmarkapp.com) for my email. I could manage email myself but I value my time, same deal here. Same reason I use google apps for personal email, same reason I use Linode for servers instead of buying hardware and colocating. Time is my biggest constraint not money, so spending an hour to save $20 isn't worth it.
        18pfsmt 15y ago
        >Having to manage the cron jobs running on each server is a pain Agreed, that's why you would use a single, cheap Atom box sitting under your desk managing all of your cron jobs. >spending an hour to save $20 isn't worth it This isn't saving $20, it is saving $240 per year, so having your own hardware is break-even for year one. Year two is essentially free. >it's the same reason I use Postmark [...] for my email Email is an entirely different beast, dealing lots of config files, blacklists, and a kludge of MTAs/ MUAs. I completely understand outsourcing that piece of operations. >instead of buying hardware and colocating There is no reason such operations need to be run from a datacenter/ colo. Any office/ business connection should be adequate to run cron jobs.
  - joeyespo 15y ago
    The reason, at least in my own personal experience, is that you really don't know what you don't know. If there was a place to learn everything there is to know about hosting a site yourself, then that would help. Even better if it was easily accessible, trustworthy, and simple to understand. And more so if it displayed proof that you only need minutes to diagnose and fix the most common problems.
- baby 15y ago
  But there are a lot of free cron service using a real interface and not an API.
  - icebraining 15y ago
    An API is more flexible. For example, the code being called could itself adjust the job parameters to fit its needs dynamically. Or you could have a pre-packaged solution that the user can install on a shared hosting server that automatically sets up the cron job.
    - baby 15y ago
      But from what I got there is only an API and no simple interface, which is everything but practical. The logical steps would be to make an interface first, then develop an API.

by tlianza 15y ago

icebraining 15y ago

You're assuming you have access to cron on the machine that code is running. Lots and lots of websites are running on shared hosting, where there's no such thing as cron access.

18pfsmt 15y ago
This is the perfect example of something that could be run on an always-connected, dual-core Atom machine (~$200) sitting in one's office. I don't understand the insistence on using a paid monthly service for something so simple. My crappy consumer router at home runs cron jobs.
- meiji 15y ago
  Well the problem with that is, what happens when the atom machine dies. Or the ISP cuts you off? People outsource services not because they can't make a cheap version themselves but because it can be a hassle.
  - 18pfsmt 15y ago
    Ok. What happens when the 3rd party service is acquired and shuts down, or shuts down due to lack of funds? I've got several machines that have been running non-stop for 3-5 years, and I've had several services I've relied on that have shutdown after being acquired, so there seems to be a need for a backup solution either way. People that derive their income from providing 3rd party services seem to have a bias in favor of 3rd party services for everything. Edit: Why am I not surprised to learn that you work for a hosting provider? I'm not trying to pick on you, I've just noticed a trend that makes little sense to me.
    - citricsquid 15y ago
      I'm not the person you're replying to, but someone that disagrees with you. I run multiple servers, at this minute there's 8 web servers online and 1 mysql server. Each server has a different purpose, some are long term and some are short term (taken offline after purpose served). Having to manage the cron jobs running on each server is a pain, having 8 servers all running different things is fine if you have the time and want to save money, but for me I'd rather pay $20 a month and outsource it to someone else. It's the same reason I use Postmark (http://postmarkapp.com http://postmarkapp.com) for my email. I could manage email myself but I value my time, same deal here. Same reason I use google apps for personal email, same reason I use Linode for servers instead of buying hardware and colocating. Time is my biggest constraint not money, so spending an hour to save $20 isn't worth it.
      - 18pfsmt 15y ago
        >Having to manage the cron jobs running on each server is a pain Agreed, that's why you would use a single, cheap Atom box sitting under your desk managing all of your cron jobs. >spending an hour to save $20 isn't worth it This isn't saving $20, it is saving $240 per year, so having your own hardware is break-even for year one. Year two is essentially free. >it's the same reason I use Postmark [...] for my email Email is an entirely different beast, dealing lots of config files, blacklists, and a kludge of MTAs/ MUAs. I completely understand outsourcing that piece of operations. >instead of buying hardware and colocating There is no reason such operations need to be run from a datacenter/ colo. Any office/ business connection should be adequate to run cron jobs.
- joeyespo 15y ago
  The reason, at least in my own personal experience, is that you really don't know what you don't know. If there was a place to learn everything there is to know about hosting a site yourself, then that would help. Even better if it was easily accessible, trustworthy, and simple to understand. And more so if it displayed proof that you only need minutes to diagnose and fix the most common problems.
baby 15y ago
But there are a lot of free cron service using a real interface and not an API.
- icebraining 15y ago
  An API is more flexible. For example, the code being called could itself adjust the job parameters to fit its needs dynamically. Or you could have a pre-packaged solution that the user can install on a shared hosting server that automatically sets up the cron job.
  - baby 15y ago
    But from what I got there is only an API and no simple interface, which is everything but practical. The logical steps would be to make an interface first, then develop an API.