The software utility
Cron is a time-based
job scheduler in
Unix-like computer
operating systems. People who set up and maintain software environments use cron to schedule jobs (commands or
shell scripts) to run periodically at fixed times, dates, or intervals. It typically automates system maintenance or administration—though its general-purpose nature makes it useful for things like connecting to the
Internet and downloading
email at regular intervals. The origin of the name
cron is from the Greek word for time, χρόνος (chronos). (
Ken Thompson, author of
cron, has confirmed this in a private communication with
Brian Kernighan.)
