In the realm of task scheduling within WordPress and broader system environments, selecting the appropriate scheduler can significantly impact performance, reliability, and scalability. This talk will provide an in-depth comparative analysis of three popular scheduling mechanisms: crond, wp-cron, and Action Scheduler. By understanding the strengths and limitations of each, developers and system administrators can make better decisions tailored to their specific needs.
First part of the talk will start with brief introduction to task scheduling, followed by anatomy of crond, offering a exploration of crond as a Unix-based task scheduler, its advantages for server-level task automation, and its limitations in the context of WordPress-specific tasks.
Next, we delve into wp-cron, how it operates, and its integration into the WordPress ecosystem, along with the challenges and limitations it faces, especially for high-frequency or resource-intensive tasks.
Unlocking the potential of Action Scheduler, we introduce its role within WordPress/WooCommerce and highlight the key features that set Action Scheduler apart from crond and wp-cron.
Second part of the talk will cover practical implementation of action scheduler, problems as well as introduction to concept of webhooks that are designed to trigger action scheduler and various actions. Handling large data volumes is addressed by discussing the limitations and challenges of processing large datasets with Action Scheduler, supported by a real-life example of syncing up to 100,000 products daily with a single Action Scheduler worker.
To sum it all up, expected takeaways of this talk would be main differences between crond, wp-cron and Action Scheduler, and ways how and why those 3 work best together, as well as general remarks and best practices for maintaining data consistency across systems and when to search solutions outside of the box and when to bring more boxes to your box.
