How to setup an automatic function?

[eluser]Corey Freeman[/eluser]
[quote author="bretticus" date="1279573414"]
No offense, but you are building a game and do not know what a command line is or how to specify a file path? Sorry, just seems like you might need to get a basic understanding of a basic concept or two before jumping into more advanced projects. Might save you form making a few mistakes along the way. I am impressed that you are doing what you are doing despite that lack.[/quote]

Yes, I am building a game without understanding some things, which is why I ask questions. You don't learn anything by doing the same easy stuff over and over. Making mistakes is essential to learning, and it's not like I'm throwing piles of money down a drain. Just time spent reading answers of people nice enough to help me out.

I'll look into the other method, but for now I just needed something that worked so I could balance the math out.

[eluser]bretticus[/eluser]
[quote author="Corey Freeman" date="1279574358"]
Yes, I am building a game without understanding some things, which is why I ask questions. You don't learn anything by doing the same easy stuff over and over. Making mistakes is essential to learning, and it's not like I'm throwing piles of money down a drain. Just time spent reading answers of people nice enough to help me out.
[/quote]

Mistakes must be made to make progress. Agreed. It just seems you are very new to Web programming in general and it wouldn't hurt to google a few simple basics; like: "file paths." Paths are not just "same easy stuff over and over again." It is a fundamental concept in computing. With that attitude you will always build crap. If digging in without understanding is the best way to learn for you, than I say, build crap for now. I suppose the fundamentals can come later.

Oh by the way, filter out my curmudgeon remarks and keep having fun. But seriously. A few fundamentals can make your life easier. Come back and ask questions here frequently. Good luck!

[eluser]Corey Freeman[/eluser]
I'm not very new to web programming. I've just never had the occasion to require a path to a script in that way. And the 20 alpha testers I have certainly don't think the game is crap, but thank you for your insights. I've been building websites for 6 years now, and I've even built a small-scale CMS before. I've not once required an automatic function or cron job.

[eluser]bretticus[/eluser]
Well sorry. I've put my foot in my mouth even deeper it would seem. But I'm still stunned that a Web programmer with 6 years experience can ask, "How do I know what that “path to script” is, exactly?" and that you've never used cron in 6 years. Maybe you are a Windows guy. My bad.

Cheers.

[eluser]Corey Freeman[/eluser]
I'm not a guy and I use linux servers. I've just never had the need for an automatic function. Specialized in wordpress but that got really boring and I wanted to use my understanding and ability to make something interesting and not just client stuff. Hence the game.

[eluser]Buso[/eluser]
Why would someone use linux in the first place? I never knew what's so great about it, other than it's free. But everyone likes it, so there must be something I'm missing. Technical stuff maybe? Something windows can't do?
A friend of mine told me things like:
- linux and all the software for it are free.
- no virus, very secure (I don't think this is true. I think there are less linux users, therefore less hackers for it. Also, linux or not, servers get hacked from time to time, its a race against updates)
- easy applications download and installations, just a few commands (thanks, but I prefer navigating to a nice site and click the download button, then execute a beautiful installer, instead of memorizing insane unhuman commands)

[eluser]KingSkippus[/eluser]
Hey, when do I get to alpha test the game?

I still think the cron job is the way to go on this. If you have any more questions or need any help with cron, let me know. I have a decent background in Linux server administration and have used cron jobs to handle things like system and database backups for a while. The Windows equivalent, just in case anyone is curious, is a scheduled task.

As for why people use Linux, well, it's extremely stable, it's robust, it's generally lean and mean without the Windows bloat, for those who know what they're doing, it's actually easier to administer, and it is free. That last point shouldn't be downplayed. A licensed copy of Windows Server 2008 will run you around $660. And it doesn't stop there, oh no. Every few years, if you want to upgrade to the latest and greatest version, instead of just running a few apt-get commands, you have to plonk down hundreds of bucks more in cash. One could ask the same question about using Php and MySQL. Why bother when you could use Visual Studio to develop your applications, .NET as your platform, and SQL Server as your back-end database? Well, arguably the biggest difference is a few thousand dollars, plus thousands more every few years. Want a full-scale dev and test environment? With Linux, the incremental cost is $0. With Windows, it's thousands more for each server. Want a distributed environment? Linux: $0. Windows: Yet thousands more.

But really, that's probably a discussion better had on other forums, as unless there's some specific Windows/Linux oddity with CodeIgniter, it's not really relevant.

[eluser]Corey Freeman[/eluser]
I don't use linux the OS. (I thought the guy above meant linux-based servers). I use a mac (which I guess is based off Linux anyways)...I'm confused now.

@KS

I'd be happy to PM you the link.

[eluser]Buso[/eluser]
[quote author="KingSkippus" date="1279606019"]Hey, when do I get to alpha test the game?

I still think the cron job is the way to go on this. If you have any more questions or need any help with cron, let me know. I have a decent background in Linux server administration and have used cron jobs to handle things like system and database backups for a while. The Windows equivalent, just in case anyone is curious, is a scheduled task.

As for why people use Linux, well, it's extremely stable, it's robust, it's generally lean and mean without the Windows bloat, for those who know what they're doing, it's actually easier to administer, and it is free. That last point shouldn't be downplayed. A licensed copy of Windows Server 2008 will run you around $660. And it doesn't stop there, oh no. Every few years, if you want to upgrade to the latest and greatest version, instead of just running a few apt-get commands, you have to plonk down hundreds of bucks more in cash. One could ask the same question about using Php and MySQL. Why bother when you could use Visual Studio to develop your applications, .NET as your platform, and SQL Server as your back-end database? Well, arguably the biggest difference is a few thousand dollars, plus thousands more every few years. Want a full-scale dev and test environment? With Linux, the incremental cost is $0. With Windows, it's thousands more for each server. Want a distributed environment? Linux: $0. Windows: Yet thousands more.

But really, that's probably a discussion better had on other forums, as unless there's some specific Windows/Linux oddity with CodeIgniter, it's not really relevant.[/quote]
Thanks for your answer (the best one I got so far, the other ones were full of open source philosofy and stuff I don't care about)

Sorry about the offtopic