Automatic code execution in ASP.NET

Question

My task is to create an ASP.NET application with a piece of code which will automatically run every half an hour. This code must append a record to the file every half an hour. It should not depend on users requests(whether they happen or not).
1) I'm writing my code in Application.Start method of Global.asax file. Am I right?
2) Do I have anything to do with the hosting (IIS) settings (e.g. change permissions to write the file, etc)?

I have already tried just putting the code to write to file into a loop in Application.Start method and then just copied the project directory to the server. However, it didn't work.

Paul Alexander · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-08 04:27:55Z

4

You'll need to spawn another thread to have it execute without depending on users. Putting it in a loop in the Application.Start event will basically deadlock the app.

void Application_Start(...)
{
    Thread thread = new Thread(CronThread);
    thread.IsBackground = true;
    thread.Start();
}

private void CronThread()
{
    while(true)
    {
        Thread.Sleep( TimeSpan.FromMinutes( 30 ) );
        // Do something every half hour
    }
}

answered Mar 8, 2011 at 4:27

Paul Alexander

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1 Comment

Ta01 Over a year ago

I was going to suggest a service or Quartz, but never quite thought of what you just posted, quite a novel approach, I don't know if this would actually work..it might, but very creative +1

Justin · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-08 04:28:56Z

This would be the place to do this in an ASP.Net application (see Pauls post for more details on how you would do this), however running your task in this way has a number of drawbacks, not least of which is that your task will only start running when your application does (i.e. when the first user accesses your site) - if the ASP.net worker process stops and does not re-start your application for whathever reason then your "background task" will stop too.

This might be acceptable, however if it is not then my approach would be to either write this as a Windows Service or as a separate executable run every half hour by a scheduled task.

See this link for an example of how to create a simple windows service using C#:

Creating a Windows Service in C# (c-sharpcorner.com)

Joe Enos · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-08 04:32:39Z

1

If you're forced to use ASP.NET, I'd recommend the technique found here, which uses the cache expiration to keep ASP.NET running and firing events on a timer. But there's always the danger that if your app dies, then the timer will not restart until a page is requested, starting the app.

There's really no way around it, so if you need something reliable, you'll need to do this differently, probably with a Windows service.

answered Mar 8, 2011 at 4:32

Joe Enos

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Jonathan Wood · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-08 04:28:25Z

1

No, such code would not go in your Application_Start method. That method is called when the app first runs or when it resets and has nothing to do with "every half hour".

The best way to handle this, BY FAR, is to create a separate application, either on the same computer or on another computer that has access to "the file" (whatever that means). ASP.NET is not set up for timer events and any attempt to do that in ASP.NET will mostly likely affect the performance of your website.

answered Mar 8, 2011 at 4:28

Jonathan Wood

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