Automatically update

There are a couple of ways to do this:

1) The first is to use a scheduled program executor like cronjobs (in Linux) and scheduled tasks (in Windows). These utilities execute a given file at set intervals or at pre-programmed dates and times.

http://www.trap17. com/index. php/cron- jobs-cron- jobs-cpanel_ t6321.html

I typically use a single script that runs at set intervals that checks the database for tasks that are due to be executed, rather than having a lot of entries in cronjob. I chose this method because I can give a client control
over which 'jobs' execute and when by changing parameters on a form which then changes the parameters in the database.

2) In some cases, where appropriate, and with later versions of MySQL,'events' can be created in MySQL and MySQL will execute these events automatically. Events are similar in their construction to other stored procedures. Events are associated with a single table. This works very well for deleting expired sessions or cleaning up old unused records. It may not be useful is complex processing is needed to do table updates.

Here are some links to learn how to write events:

http://dev.mysql. com/tech- resources/ articles/ mysql-events. html
http://www.phpied. com/mysql- events/