scheduleevery

Scheduleevery is a term used to describe a programming pattern or API that enables code to run at regular, specified intervals. It represents a family of scheduling interfaces rather than a single universal standard, and it appears across multiple languages and frameworks. The core concept is to express a recurring interval—such as every 5 minutes or every 2 hours—and attach a task or callback to that interval.

Most implementations adopt a fluent or builder style, allowing developers to declare schedules in readable terms. A typical usage model involves specifying an interval and a unit of time, followed by binding a function or job to be executed when the schedule is due. Examples are often described in the abstract as schedule.every(n).unit.do(task), with variations that support seconds, minutes, hours, days, or more complex patterns. In practice, libraries may also support multiple schedules, time zones, and alignment with wall-clock time.

Execution is usually handled by an in-process scheduler that runs on a dedicated thread or within an event loop. The scheduler wakes at appropriate moments to trigger due tasks, and may provide features such as drift handling, misfire policies, and persistence. Some implementations allow the first run to be delayed until a specified start time, or to synchronize with a calendar.

Common use cases include periodic data polling, routine maintenance tasks, cache refreshes, and background processing in applications or services. Scheduleevery-like patterns contrast with system-level cron jobs or external task schedulers, offering tighter integration with application code and portability across platforms.

See also: cron, task scheduling, job scheduler, timers, event loops.