Handle Massive Number of Actions

Do you have specific tasks which need to run at your desired time? Do you use WordPress as a proxy to generate data from external sources? As WordPress has evolved into a phase of application platforms, a more enhanced task management system needed to emerge.

Currently, with WP Cron, if you register a large number of actions, for example, 1000 tasks to run immediately and one of them stalls, it affects all the other actions preventing them from being loaded at the scheduled time. Also, the scheduled tasks won't be triggered if there is no visitor on the site. The goal of this plugin is to resolve such issues and become the perfect solution for WordPress powered back-end application servers to provide full-brown API functionalities.

What it does

• (optional) creates periodic background access to the site.
• triggers tasks registered by the site owner at desired time or interval.

Built-in Actions

• Delete Posts - performs bulk deletion of posts based on the post type, post statuses, taxonomy, and taxonomy terms.
• Send Email - sends email to specified email addresses.
• Clean Transients - deletes expired transients (caches).
• Check Web Sites - accesses specified web pages and checks certain keywords.
• Run PHP Scripts - runs PHP scripts of your choosing.

Custom Action Modules

• Auto Post - creates posts automatically.

Extensible

This is designed to be fully extensible and developers can add custom modules including actions and occurrence types.

Who needs this?

This is mostly for site admins who need total control over the server behavior. If you use WordPress just to publish articles, you won't need this.

Is it possible to trigger actions while disabling the server heartbeat?

Yes. In that case, you need to set up your own Cron job that accesses the site with the task_scheduler_checking_actions query string in the request url.

e.g. /usr/local/bin/curl --silent http://your-site/?task_scheduler_checking_actions=1

/usr/local/bin/wget http://your-site/?task_scheduler_checking_actions=1

Is it possible to send an email when a particular task completes?

Yes. Create a task with the Exit Code occurrence type and the Send Email action. The Exit Code occurrence type lets you choose which task and what exit code should trigger an email to be sent.

Is it possible to execute a PHP script?

The PHP Script action module lets you run PHP scripts located on your server. One thing to keep in mind is that the plugin just includes the PHP file using include() so it does not technically execute a PHP script.

How can I know what exit code is returned from an action?

The most built-in actions return 1 when they succeed and 0 on failure. You can check what exit code will be returned by enabling the log.

To enable the log, go to Dashboard -> Task Scheduler -> Manage Tasks and click on the Edit link of the task. Set a number in the Max Count of Log Entries option. 50 would be sufficient to check exit codes.

After the task runs, click on the View link of the task listing table of the task. The log page will open and it should tell what exit code the action returns.

How can I create a module?

See the Other Notes section. It requires a basic PHP coding skill and understanding of object oriented programming.

There are mainly two types of modules you can make, action and occurrence. Most of the time, you will want action modules.

Comprehensive instructions for creating modules are still in preparation. If you are interested, open the include/class/module/action folder and you'll see some built-in action modules. If you open some of the files, you'll notice that each of them are very short. What it does is basically extend a base module class like TaskScheduler_Action_Base and insert code in the methods predefined by the base class.

If you are comfortable reading PHP code, it should not be hard to figure out. Give it a try. If you get a question, don't hesitate to post a question about it.

Found a bug. Where can I report?

Please use the GitHub repository of this plugin.

How do I list my module?

If you create a module plugin that can be shared by others, submit it to wordpress.org.

1.6.3 - 2022/02/26

• Fixed an issue that awaiting routines remained when a task is disabled.
• Fixed incorrect call counts for routines.
• Fixed the PHP error, "Uncaught TypeError: round(): Argument #1 ($num) must be of type int|float" with PHP 8.
• Fixed an issue that future time was displayed for the Last Run time in UI.
• Changed the log file name created by the Debug action module.

1.6.2 - 2022/02/10

• Fixed non-sanitized input and request values.

1.6.1 - 2022/02/10

• Fixed a bug that unnecessary routines were spawned per task.
• Fixed a bug that Run Count was not updated when a routine had a thread.
• Fixed non-sanitized HTTP request values.
• Refined some input fields due to a dependency replacement.

1.6.0 - 2021/07/07

• Added the User Roles option for the Email action

1.5.4 - 2021/02/24

• Fixed a bug that the server heartbeat did not function, started since v1.5.0.

1.5.3 - 2020/09/26

• Fixed a bug that caused a PHP error saying "Fatal error: Uncaught TypeError: Argument 1 passed" during creating and editing a task.

1.5.2 - 2020/09/22

• Added a test component which is visible when the site debug mode is turned on.
• Fixed a bug that the redirected URLs of action links had an extra port indication on some servers.
• Fixed a bug of a PHP syntax error.

1.5.1 - 2020/09/20

• Changed the behavior of truncating task log items not to create internal routines and threads.
• Fixed an incompatibility issue with PHP 7.4 regarding usage of curly braces on array elements.
• Fixed a bug that orphaned threads were not deleted properly.
• Fixed a bug that a routine lock transient was not properly retrieved.

1.5.0 - 2020/09/11

• Added the ability to accept multiple exit codes for the Exit Code occurrence type.
• Added the Negate option for the Exit Code occurrence type allows the user choose whether the action gets triggered when the routine returns none of the set exit codes.
• Added the behavior to clean up threads when their owner routine is deleted.
• Added the behavior to clean up routines when their owner task is deleted.
• Added the options for the Email action to set the name and address of the from field.
• Tweaked the setting UI regarding redundant visible fields.
• Removed unnecessary action links in the task listing table.
• Changed the behaviour of the Run action link from normally triggering an action from forcing it.
• Changed the form session length to be longer.
• Fixed a bug that Hung Routine Handler and Log Deletion threads were often duplicated.
• Fixed a bug with the Email action that sending Emails failed due to the invalid email address set for the from field.
• Fixed an incompatibility issue with WordPress 5.5 which includes jQuery 1.12.4 that causes the auto-complete field to not storing proper values.
• Fixed an incompatibility issue with form button icons in WordPress 5.3 or above.

1.4.9 - 2020/08/19

• Fixed an incompatibility issue with WordPress 5.5 regarding radio input buttons.

1.4.8 - 2020/03/08

• Added an admin notice to appear when the site timezone is not set.
• Fixed a bug with the Specific Time occurrence type that the d/m/Y date format caused time miscalculations.

1.4.7- 2018/10/17

• Fixed a bug that caused a PHP warning of strict standards.

1.4.6 - 2018/08/01

• Added default and Japanese language files.
• Fixed a bug with the Daily occurrence type that spawned routines multiple times on some servers.

1.4.5 - 2017/06/11

• Fixed a bug with the Daily occurrence type that did not set the correct time for cases of 7 days ahead.

1.4.4 - 2017/03/11

• Fixed a bug in the Delete Posts action module that some posts without taxonomy items could not be deleted.

1.4.3 - 2016/12/27

• Optimized the performance of server-heartbeat.

1.4.2 - 2016/10/03

• Added the Elapsed Time option for the Delete Posts action module.
• Fixed PHP warnings of Notice: Undefined property: stdClass::$delete_posts class-wp-posts-list-table.php on line 403 in the Log page.
• Tweaked the settings UI.

1.4.1 - 2016/09/30

• Added a filter for post query arguments of the Delete Posts action module.
• Fixed PHP warnings of Declaration of TaskScheduler_Utility::uniteArrays() should be compatible with....

1.4.0 - 2016/09/21

• Added the Run PHP Script action module.
• Tweaked the settings UI.

1.3.4 - 2016/09/08

• Fixed a bug which caused a fatal error Cannot redeclare class TaskScheduler_Routine_Base in WordPress 4.6.1.

1.3.3 - 2016/09/01

• Fixed a bug that the ability to add Log items manually for multi-sites were not disabled in v1.3.2.

1.3.2 - 2016/08/23

• Fixed a compatibility issue with WordPress 4.6 that prevented routines from being processed.
• Deprecated the ability for the Log functionality to create an item manually.

1.3.1 - 2016/07/06

• Added an option to delete options upon plugin uninstall.
• Deprecated the option to delete options upon plugin deactivation.

1.3.0 - 2016/05/30

• Added a built-in action module which checks specified web pages.

1.2.0 - 2016/03/19

• Added the ability to set multiple email addresses per input field of the Send Email action module.
• Added the ability to clone tasks via an action link in the task listing table.

1.1.1 - 2016/02/03

• Fixed a bug that multiple routine instances get created with the Daily occurrence type.

1.1.0 - 2015/08/02

• Added a built-in action module that cleans expired transients.
• Added an option that enables the ability to remove hung routines.

1.0.2 - 2015/07/03

• Fixed auto-complete fields that did not work in WordPress 4.0 or above.
• Changed the timing of loading plugin components to support themes to add modules.

1.0.1 - 2015/05/12

• Fixed a bug in the Delete Posts action module that the taxonomy and post status options did not take effect.
• Fixed an incompatibility issue with WordPress 4.2 or above that in the listing table view, the view links lost the count indications.
• Fixed an incompatibility issue with WordPress 4.2 or above that taxonomy terms could not be listed.
• Changed it to accept an empty slug to create a custom module.
• Changed it to accept no wizard class to create a custom module.

1.0.0 - 2015/03/26

• Added the daily occurrence type.
• Updated Admin Page Framework.

1.0.0b13 - 2014/09/01

• Fixed an issue with sites enabling object caching.
• Fixed a bug of paged navigation links in the task listing table.

1.0.0b12 - 2014/08/27

• Fixed a bug that v1.0.0b11 had some missing files due to the incorrect character cases.

1.0.0b11 - 2014/08/22

• Added the ability for the autocomplete admin page framework custom field to search users that can be used by modules.

1.0.0b10 - 2014/08/18

• Deprecated the Hung Routine Handler action module.
• Refined the entire routine system to create each routine instance when a task starts.
• Changed the default routine status of tasks to be Ready from Inactive.
• Fixed a bug that the wizard form field of the Exit Code occurrence type did not function as of the previous version.
• Fixed a bug that when updating module options, the last run time meta value got lost.

1.0.0b09 - 2014/08/13

• Changed the method of including PHP files to keep maintainability.
• Tweaked the performance of the plugin admin pages.
• Fixed a bug that a test page created for debugging was remaining.
• Fixed a bug that module options were not displayed in the task editing page.

1.0.0b08 - 2014/08/09

• Added the Check Action Now button in the task listing table page.
• Added the Number of Posts to Process per Routine option to the Delete Posts action module.
• Tweaked the method of including PHP files to improve performance.
• Tweaked the plugin admin pages to define forms within the own page loads.
• Tweaked the Delete Posts action module to load threads smoothly for sites disabling the server heartbeat.
• Changed the meta box output of modules to display stored module option values from all wizard screens if the module uses multiple wizard screens.

1.0.0b07 - 2014/08/06

• Added a new meta box in task edition page that includes the Update submit button, some time indications, and the switch option of Enabled or Disabled.
• Tweaked the mechanism of checking routines.
• Tweaked the Delete Posts action module not to insert a taxonomy query argument when the taxonomy slug is not selected.
• Fixed a bug that repeatable fields could not be properly updated in wizards.
• Fixed a bug that editing a disable task made the task not accessible from the task listing table.
• Fixed a bug that the same task could be triggered when simultaneous page loads that checks the scheduled actions are made at the exact the same time.
• Fixed a bug that the same task could be wedged in the queue of spawning tasks while another page load is spawning tasks.

1.0.0b06 - 2014/08/05

• Fixed a bug that the server heartbeat got resumed upon plugin activation even when it is disabled.
• Added a description in the setting page that appears when the server heartbeat is disabled.

1.0.0b05 - 2014/08/03

• Made it possible to trigger actions without the server heartbeat.

1.0.0b04 - 2014/08/02

• Fixed an issue that multiple server heartbeat instances could run.

1.0.0b03 - 2014/08/01

• Changed it to display module description in the form field.
• Fixed an issue that the Change button did not appear when the Debug action is selected.
• Optimized the server heartbeat.

1.0.0b02 - 2014/07/31

• Initial release.

Install

1. Upload task-scheduler.php and other files compressed in the zip folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.,
2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.

How to Use

1. Define a Task via Dashboard -> Task Scheduler -> Add New Task
2. In the task listing table, toggle on and off.

Task Listing Table



Wizard



Settings