Infos on CRONRGF.CMD
====================

CRONRGF.CMD was modelled after the "cron"-utility of Unix. It allows you to 
specify in a control files on which times and dates a command should be executed
repeatedly.

CRONRGF.CMD starts and runs forever, dispatching the commands at the given 
times. 

Please check ATRGF.CMD which was modelled after the OS/2-LAN-command "at" for 
another variant having features not found in CRONRGF.CMD.

Usage
=====

      CRONRGF [/Test] cronfile

Reads file 'cronfile' and executes command[s] repeatedly according to it.

'cronfile' has to be formatted like in Unix; unlike the Unix-version a 
percent-sign (%) is treated like any other character; empty lines and ones 
starting with a semi-colon (;) are ignored.  

If switch '/Test' is given, the file is read and the user is presented
with the date/times and commands to be executed.

Examples
========
          CRONRGF d:\os2\system\crontab
          ... execute statements in file 'crontab' located in "D:\OS2\SYSTEM"

          CRONRGF /TEST testcron
          ... execute statements in file 'testcron' in testmode



LAYOUT of the control file
==========================

minute hour day month weekday command
     --- or ---
* * * * * command

where minute  ranges from 0-59,
      hour    ranges from 0-23,
      day     ranges from 1-31,
      month   ranges from 1-12,
      weekday ranges from 1-7 (1 = Monday, 2 = Tuesday, ..., 7 = Sunday)

you can specify a list of values, separated by a comma (,), e.g. "1,3,7"
you can specify a range of values, separated by a dash (-), e.g. "1-5"
you can specify a star (*) instead of a value, meaning entire range of all valid
    values

Blank lines and ones starting with a semi-colomn (;) are ignored. A command will
only be executed if ALL critereiae are fullfilled, i.e. only if the specified 
minute, hour, day, month and weekday arrived.

Sample file
===========

; This is a comment (starts with a semicolumn) =================================
; empty lines are ignored too...


;
; the given command is only executed when all criteria are fullfilled !
;

; the following command "@ECHO HI, I am Nr. 1 to be echoed every minute" would be
; executed every minute
*  *  *  *  *  @ECHO Hi, I am Nr. 1 to be echoed every minute & pause

59 23 31 12 5 command, one minute before year's end, and only if the last day is a Friday

; comment: every year at 17:45 on June 7th:
45 17  7  6  *  dir c:\*.exe

; comment: on every full quarter of an hour 
;          at midnight, 6 in the morning, noon, 6 in the evening
;          on the 1st, 15th and 31st of 
;          every month on
;          weekdays only
0,15,30,45   0,6,12,18   1,15,31   *   *   backup c:\*.* d:\ /s

; at noon on every day, if it is a weekday:
0 12 * * 1-5 XCOPY Q:\* D:\ /s

; every minute in January, March, May, July, September and November:
*  *  *  1,3,5,7,9,11  *  dir c:\*.cmd

; at the last day of the year at 23:01, 23:02, 23:03, 23:05, 23:20, 23:21,
; 23:22, 23:23, 23:24, 23:25, 23:30, 23:31, 23:32, 23:33, 23:34, 23:35,
; 23:59
1,2,3,5,20-25,30-35,59   23   31   12   *   COPY D:\*.log E:\backup

; at midnight on every month:
0 0 1 * * tapebackup /all

; execute every minute, no restrictions:
*  *  *  *  *  @ECHO Hi, I am Nr. 2 to be echoed every minute & pause

; execute every minute in January, February, March only !
* *  *  1,2,3  *  any-command

; execute every day at midnight
0 0 * * * any-command

; execute every wednesday at midnigth !
0 0 * * 3 any-command

; this is a comment which concludes the sample file ===========================



Rony G. Flatscher,
Vienna/Austria/Europe,
Wirtschaftsuniversitaet Wien
1992-06-10