I have a database that is populated based on events that happen in real-time. I wanted to view the output of reports from that database on a regular basis (every 30 seconds). I found a lovely little gem called ‘rufus-scheduler’ that does the trick nice and neatly. Here’s how it worked for me.

Add the gem to your Gemfile

gem 'rufus-scheduler'

Update your bundle with bundle install

/path/to/my/app/$ bundle install

Create a file in your initializers folder. I’ve called mine task_scheduler. This file contains instructions to start the scheduled background process and on the tasks you want to run regularly.

The contents of mine are as follows:

scheduler = Rufus::Scheduler.start_new



scheduler.every("30s") do

   stats_direct = Stats.new("Frankston Direct")

   stats_direct.line_status



   stats_loop = Stats.new("Frankston Loop")

   stats_loop.line_status



   stats_loop = Stats.new("Sandringham")

   stats_loop.line_status

end

And that’s all there is to it.

More info on the gem can be found here