Hosting Archives | portalZINE NMN | Development meets Creativity

4. June 2019

Cron / Crontab Tips Collection

I will use this article to collect interesting tips and tricks about using the Linux cron. This is not so much about setting up a cron, but about little things I use or discovered!

What is a cron ?

The cron daemon is a long-running process that executes commands at specific dates and times. You can use this to schedule activities, either as one-time events or as recurring tasks.

What is the crontab?

For commands that need to be executed repeatedly (e.g., hourly, daily, or weekly), you can use the crontab command. The crontab command creates a crontab file containing commands and instructions for the cron daemon to execute.

Format is: MIN HOUR DOM MON DOW CMD
Minute field
Hour field
Day of month
Day of week
Command

crontab -l    		# Viewing the cronjobs as currently logged in user 
crontab -e    		# Edit the cronjob for currently logged in user
crontab -l -u $USER 	# View the cronjob for the specified user 
crontab -e -u $USER	$ Edit the cronjob for the specified user

crontab -l # Viewing the cronjobs as currently logged in user

crontab -e # Edit the cronjob for currently logged in user

crontab -l -u $USER # View the cronjob for the specified user

crontab -e -u $USER $ Edit the cronjob for the specified user

Run every 5 minutes

*/5 * * * *  /home/reggaenights/script.sh

1	/5 * * * /home/reggaenights/script.sh

Run yearly, monthly, weekly, daily or on reboot.
@yearly will run at 00:00 on Jan 1st for every year.
@monthly will run at 00:00 on 1st of every month.
@weekly will run at 00:00 on starting of every week.
@daily will run at 00:00 on every day.
@reboot will run after the server has been rebooted

@yearly  	/home/reggaenights/script.sh	
@monthly 	/home/reggaenights/script.sh
@weekly		/home/reggaenights/script.sh
@daily  	/home/reggaenights/script.sh

@yearly /home/reggaenights/script.sh

@monthly /home/reggaenights/script.sh

@weekly /home/reggaenights/script.sh

@daily /home/reggaenights/script.sh

TIPS

1. Send cron output via email

*/30 * * * * /bin/bash /cleanup | /usr/bin/mail -s "Notify me" your@email.org

1	/30 * * * /bin/bash /cleanup \| /usr/bin/mail -s "Notify me" your@email.org

2. Use a real cron for WordPress

A real cron does not rely on website activity and executes independently.

*/30 * * * * /usr/bin/wget -q -O - https://yourwordpress.org/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron

1	/30 * * * /usr/bin/wget -q -O - https://yourwordpress.org/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron

Do not forget to disable the virtual WordPress Cron in the wp-config.php!

define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);

1	define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);

3. Prevent Emails being sent, when cron executes > /dev/null 2>&1

*/30 * * * * /usr/bin/wget -q -O - https://yourcrone.org/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&amp;1

1	/30 * * * /usr/bin/wget -q -O - https://yourcrone.org/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&1

4. Set Standard Variables

# Email to send output to
MAILTO="a@b.com,b@b.com"

# Setup your path for reuse
PATH="/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin"

# Tells which directory the cron should execute the crontab commands from
HOME="/path/to/app/root"

#Set the default shell
SHELL="/bin/bash"

# Email to send output to

MAILTO="a@b.com,b@b.com"

# Setup your path for reuse

PATH="/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin"

# Tells which directory the cron should execute the crontab commands from

HOME="/path/to/app/root"

#Set the default shell

SHELL="/bin/bash"

30. May 2019

Have you heard of GatsbyJS?

Gatsby is a free and open source framework based on React that helps developers build blazing fast websites and apps.

What they have to say …

Go Beyond Static Websites. Get all the benefits of static websites with none of the limitations. Gatsby sites are fully functional React apps so you can create high-quality, dynamic web apps, from blogs to e-commerce sites to user dashboards.
Use a Modern Stack for Every Site. No matter where the data comes from, Gatsby sites are built using React and GraphQL. Build a uniform workflow for you and your team, regardless of whether the data is coming from the same backend.
Load Data From Anywhere. Gatsby pulls in data from any data source, whether it’s Markdown files, a headless CMS like Contentful or WordPress, or a REST or GraphQL API. Use source plugins to load your data, then develop using Gatsby’s uniform GraphQL interface.
Performance Is Baked In. Ace your performance audits by default. Gatsby automates code splitting, image optimization, inlining critical styles, lazy-loading, and prefetching resources, and more to ensure your site is fast — no manual tuning required.
Host at Scale for Pennies. Gatsby sites don’t require servers so you can host your entire site on a CDN for a fraction of the cost of a server-rendered site. Many Gatsby sites can be hosted entirely free on services like GitHub Pages and Netlify.

What I have to say …

While researching some popular static site generation tools, GatsbyJS comes up often. I have played with NuxtJS and Hugo in the past, but what I REALLY like about GatsbyJS is the plugin / modular system. You can build your website with plain-old React and CSS styles, but make your development more efficient by adding node_modules.

Also being able to import any data source with ease, using GraphQL, is amazing. And when it comes to content management, you can easily hook a headless WordPress or Drupal setup into the mix and consume their REST APIs :)

I am not switching my own website to GatsbyJS anytime soon, but its another tool in my toolbox for future project consideration !

There are many tutorials on Youtube about getting started, maybe something to consider for the next freetime testdrive ;) Enjoy …

GatsbyJS @ Github

18. May 2019

Screenshot Service with Node.js

Manet is a REST API server which allows capturing screenshots of websites using various parameters.

The Node.js server can use SlimerJS or PhantomJS as headless browser engines.

I have build similar with CasperJS, but this is far better for those that want a simple straight solution.

@GitHub

11. May 2019

portalZINE goes Multi-Language

Since I started in 2002, all iterations of portalZINE have been pure english content websites. You can read about the why on my services page.

I had potential customers in Germany complain about that a lot over the past few years. But your own website often suffers, while your customers get all the attention. That is how it is and how it should be!

Creating Multi – Language websites has been part of my services & portfolio for years, with an extreme application setup handling 13 languages in 2014 for the soccer world cup.

Multi-Language setups have come a long way and it was time to showcase that on my own setup as well. Not only to calm those potential customers, but to testdrive new functionality and possibilities on my own setup. portalZINE has always been my testlab for stability and new feature sets.

Most of my static pages are available in English and German now, the blog itself will remain pure English.

Need help setting up a multi language website, get in touch!

Cheers
Alex

10. May 2019

Composercat – a GUI for composer

Composercat is a comprehensive GUI for the Composer package manager, designed both for professionals and people taking their first steps with Composer.

A nice entry point for everyone that is afraid of the console. The GUI application is currently in beta and available for Windows, MacOS and Linux.

“Composer is a tool for dependency management in PHP. It allows you to declare the libraries your project depends on and it will manage (install/update) them for you.”

Composercat
Composer

21. April 2018

Pimp my Log – Log viewer for your web server

Pimp my Log is a web app written in PHP. It displays server logs friendly.

By default, Pimp My Log supports :

Apache web server
NGINX web server
IIS web server
PHP log files

Key features:

Display any text and multi-line logs in your web browser
Chrome, Safari, Firefox, IE9+, Opera are supported
Be notified on your desktop as soon as a new log line is available
Be notified when log file is rotated
Apply a search filter (plain text or regular expression) on the log file
Refresh logs : Pull to refresh, push key stroke R, click on the refresh button or set an auto-refresh timer
Show/hide columns during runtime to improve readability
Mark lines during runtime to improve readability
Sort lines and view new logs lines directly in list
Export logs in various formats ( JSON, XML, CSV, RSS, ATOM, …) and expose them as webservices

Pimp my Log

27. January 2018

Never store sensitive credentials in your code again – PHP dotenv

PHP dotenv loads environment variables from .env to getenv(), $_ENV and $_SERVER automagically.

You should never store sensitive credentials in your code. Anything that is likely to change between deployment environments – such as database credentials or credentials for 3rd party services – should be extracted from the code into environment variables.

Add your application configuration to a .env file in the root of your project. Make sure the .env file is added to your .gitignore so it is not being checked-in.

DEFINE

S3_BUCKET="dotenv"
SECRET_KEY="souper_seekret_key"

1 2	S3_BUCKET="dotenv" SECRET_KEY="souper_seekret_key"

LOAD

$dotenv = new Dotenv\Dotenv(__DIR__);
$dotenv->load();

// OR WITH filename

$dotenv = new Dotenv\Dotenv(__DIR__, 'myconfig');
$dotenv->load();

$dotenv = new Dotenv\Dotenv(__DIR__);

$dotenv->load();

// OR WITH filename

$dotenv = new Dotenv\Dotenv(__DIR__, 'myconfig');

$dotenv->load();

ACCESS

$s3_bucket = getenv('S3_BUCKET');
$s3_bucket = $_ENV['S3_BUCKET'];
$s3_bucket = $_SERVER['S3_BUCKET'];

$s3_bucket = getenv('S3_BUCKET');

$s3_bucket = $_ENV['S3_BUCKET'];

$s3_bucket = $_SERVER['S3_BUCKET'];

GitHub

Enjoy coding and be secure …

26. January 2018

Website traffic visualization with Logstalgia

“Logstalgia is a website traffic visualization tool that replays or streams web-server access logs as a pong-like battle between the web server and an never ending torrent of requests.

Requests appear as colored balls (the same color as the host) which travel across the screen to arrive at the requested location. Successful requests are hit by the paddle while unsuccessful ones (eg 404 – File Not Found) are missed and pass through.

The paths of requests are summarized within the available space by identifying common path prefixes. Related paths are grouped together under headings. For instance, by default paths ending in png, gif or jpg are grouped under the heading Images. Paths that don’t match any of the specified groups are lumped together under a Miscellaneous section.”

Logstalgia

30. August 2017

GreenApe is breathing again

After some downtime, GreenApe is breathing again. I revived the brand with a good friend of mine and we will be reopening shop options shortly.

Michael and I have been friends for a long time. We have been working on many different projects over the years.

He launched GreenApe in 2011 and I helped him with his first steps. A couple of months ago we decided to merge our competences and expand what GreenApe offers and stands for.

From the website: “The GreenApe brand was established in 2011. GreenApe’s career began with the 1st Single Malt Whisky Coffee.

As the first of its kind, our coffee is refined with Original Single Malt Whisky. To this day, he pampers many connoisseurs and gourmets with his unique taste. Now there is another reason to rejoice.

From now on, we are continuously expanding the GreenApe product world with several stylish gadgets and useful accessories. For you this means that you will be able to discover even more beautiful, special or practical things in the future.“

GreenApe is all about lifestyle & leisure products, fun gadgets and unique food & drinks.

20. August 2017

Font Face Observer … gives you a font promise ;)

Font Face Observer is a fast and simple web font loader. You can use it to load fonts and customise your browser’s font loading behaviour.

Font Face Observer gives you control over web font loading using a simple promise based interface. It doesn’t matter where your fonts come from: host them yourself, or use a web font service such as Google Fonts, Typekit, Fonts.com, and Webtype.

Font Face Observer @ Github