[Chicago-talk] Is it running from cron?

[Steven Lembark]

> Couple hints - best to make a script and run that instead of a command, as
> you can alter the script as needed. You can also set all the vars you
> want. Modern (Vixie-ish) crons set some env vars (see
> man 5 crontab

Var's in crontab are minimal standard shell; you
may even find them in a web server. Easiest way to
make the executable internally cron-safe I've seen
is add a switch:

  frobnicate --crontab
  frobnicate --apache

Using an env var leaves the thing runnable but incorrect
on the cron side of life -- and dropping an extra row is
all too easy. With the switch at least the distinction
becomes part of the required command line so you either
get it or puke.

-- 
Steven Lembark                                         85-09 90th Street
Workhorse Computing                                  Woodhaven, NY 11421
lembark at wrkhors.com                                      +1 888 359 3508