A Scheduling Feature

[Seth Turin 209]

It looks like scheduling is coming out ahead in the new feature poll. We'll probably do sockets too. But as far as scheduling goes, we have some ideas, but what would you guys need to accomplish with it?

 

Are you scheduling automation tasks for yourself, or making bots to sell with scheduling?

 

If you're selling the bots, would your customers need access to the scheduler?

 

In what other ways might you use a scheduling system?

 

Do you have any ideas on how it should work/look/feel?

[VentureOnline 49]

I for one would love users to have access to the scheduler. I don't think it would need to be too complicated. Just a way for the user to decide intervals when commands should be run. So just like a button can run a command we can tie the scheduler to the command as well.

[a2mateit 395]

Since there are just so many different things that ubot is used for this becomes quite difficult I suppose.

 

I would think that the end user should be able to schedule the bot to run at a pre-determined time. 

 

So maybe it would run certain custom commands, or a "schedule" code function like the "define" but it would be defineschedule. 

[HelloInsomnia 1102]

I think it would be cool to set a certain time a define command (or commands) can be ran at. Then have the ability to repeat daily, hourly and so on. This way users can setup a bot to do several things like at 10am follow 100 people on Twitter, at 10PM unfollow those who don't follow you back - then repeat daily. Something like that would be incredibly cool.

[Twitter Dominator 125]

Scheduling should be done in this manner:

 

Date time activation of a task ( future event management )

 

also

 

Scheduling intervals lets say , run every 10 mins or every 2 days then pause, run once a week etc..

 

It should also be available to the bots after compiling and for the end user as well, much like all other seo type software that has scheduling available to run tasks in intervals and date time management

 

 

 

 

just an after thought , make the task management feature hold a new form of define so its a container above the define command, ie:

 

define makes custom commands and functions

 

time define , holds many define commands and or functions and is part of a larger group of container management for the bots

[rulez05 3]

I hope scheduling will be implement so I will not use win automation sucks. so I only need ubot my favorite thing

[Anonym 53]

The users should have access to the scheduler.

[P0s3id0n 90]

I think the define schedule is the best approach and also have an UI Schedule fully compatible with the define schedule

 

The define schedule will have a drop down as of what type like daily, every xyz minutes or at a specific day/time and the command will run all the actions inside the define based on the schedule

[Legend 181]

I tend to follow the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid!) method of bot development in which case I would generally not allow user access. However, I do realize that user access might be desirable at some point, and so at least the ability to collect input from users (in the form of variables) to pass on to UBot for "time control" would probably be the best way to go, IMHO.

[Kreatus (Ubot Ninja) 417]

All of them are cool but the most important is the scheduler.

For others, Please add this trick by tonyH here http://www.ubotstudio.com/forum/index.php?/topic/10048-the-missing-gap-to-full-ubot-automation-filled/ and also ubot licensing system for developers.

[socialcracker 59]

All of them are cool but the most important is the scheduler.

For others, Please add this trick by tonyH here http://www.ubotstudio.com/forum/index.php?/topic/10048-the-missing-gap-to-full-ubot-automation-filled/ and also ubot licensing system for developers.

This ^^

[Kreatus (Ubot Ninja) 417]

This ^^

Lol. I just realized i posted it on a wrong thread. that post should go here http://www.ubotstudio.com/forum/index.php?/topic/12527-new-features-to-add/

[Seth Turin 209]

The Define Scheduler Command idea sounds like a pretty good way to go. The only thing I'm still working out is parameters. If you define a command for the scheduler, and compile it to a bot, how would the compiled bot user specify parameters for the command?

[pftg4 102]

Define Scheduler Command can't you just add parameters like we do in the define command and pass them when we run the sceduler

 

 

 

Pftg4

[AutomationNinja 194]

basically choose a date and a time...

[entroqy 5]

My 2c. Scheduling can be tricky -  what granularity is being used? What is being scheduled?

 

I have several apps with schedulers built in, (obviously not ubot code)  I can tell you what I have found useful. Whether that maps onto something that works for ubot only ubot can decide.

 

1. The bot is started either manually or by the Windows task scheduler. Not the job of the internal scheduler to run the bot. A command line option determines whether the scheduler is active.

 

2. Schedule items are contained in a list. each entry consists of a time and a duration e.g. . - hhmm   ddd with duration in minutes by default. I've never needed more than 0000 - 2400, but you could get fancy with days of the week or dates as well.

 

3. when the bot is started with the scheduler enabled, it determines where in the schedule it fits and then continues from that point onwards. If the schedule says it should be active, it does NOT activate, but waits for the next start event.

 

4. You need some override option so that you can enable / disable the scheduler manually.

 

5. The scheduler sets/resets a property isActive. While isActive is true the bot will do whatever it is supposed to do. This way logic in the bot can determine whether it makes sense to run or not as well. If things are bad, it can switch itself off.

 

The UI I have is a simple grid with start time and duration. The grid is kept sorted by time and you can insert, edit, delete entries. Different schedules can be saved and reloaded. I also have a random scheduler which allows the user to configure certain parameters to control attributes of the schedule.

 

There are plenty of ways to do something like this, the above works for me.

[botmaker7 5]

I think the best thing is having a caladar icon in the UI and when the user clicks it brings up a full featured 12 month calandar they can schedule events into. Also lots of shortcuts are necessary.. maybe have an editors toolbar for scheduling the same task every day over the month, adding and deleting, performing multiple edits at once etc.

I think lots of different views of the calandar are required. Example maybe some people want the calandar to only display 1 day at a time and make detailed scheduling, others might want to mass edit tasks over 1 week, 3 months, all 12 etc.

Can't wait to see a sheduler built into ubot, that;s gonna be so badass!

[Eddie 13]

i suggest combine multi-threads with schedule, it would be much better!

[richim1 2]

When this feature will be added?

[jason 101]

We don't have any timetables for this feature, but Seth asked about it because we are interested in adding it.

[illmill 87]

@Seth - take a look at the scheduler that windows has (windows 7) because i think users should set up something in ubot in a similar fashion.  There would be three paramaters:  Start date/time, frequency (run once, daily, weekly, monthly) and time/day (times to run, days to run if done on a weekly or a monthly thing).  It would also be cool if there was an option to override these settings and just spread tasks out for a duration of time.  For example, the way senukeXCr lets you run their program for 7 days (or whatever you choose).

[illmill 87]

also, pllleaaaassseee do sockets soon  Any idea at all when that might come out?  Seems like that would be a simple addon.

[Code Docta (Nick C.) 635]

Any updates on this?

[VentureOnline 49]

Any updates on this?

 

The better question is any update on any of the features they asked us to vote on.

[MiriamMB 63]

It is definitely on our roadmap. We will let you know when we have a definitive time frame for when it will be added. 

Just know that it is still something we will be add.