Contiunous running programs: Thread.sleep vs. Scheduled Tasks

Question

Hello,
I have simulation programs that should run continuously for weeks at a time. I am seeking any advice or comments on the best way to do something like this.
Some programs run every 30 seconds; others run once per hour; others run once per day. These programs involve simulating the use of a popular website by reading web pages and inserting records into Oracle 9i databases.
As far as the "every 30 seconds" program, I use Thread.sleep to pause the program for each interval. Is this a good method?
What about programs running once per hour or per day? I have used the Windows XP Scheduled Task program to execute the program. Is this a good method?
Does anybody know of a better way to do such things?
Any comments or helpful links are greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Logan

Answer 1

I have simulation programs that should run
continuously for weeks at a time. I am seeking any
advice or comments on the best way to do something
like this.If you have a simulator, does it have to simulate time on a one to one basis. Could it not simulate 30 seconds, every 3 seconds and thus not need to run for the full week. If you have to run in real time, what are you simulating.
Some programs run every 30 seconds; others run once
per hour; others run once per day. These programs
involve simulating the use of a popular website by
reading web pages and inserting records into Oracle
9i databases.
As far as the "every 30 seconds" program, I use
Thread.sleep to pause the program for each interval.
Is this a good method?No. Sleep for 30 seconds just means there is atleast 30 seconds delay from the end of the last task to the start of the next task. This could means every 30.1 seconds or even every 33 seconds depending on how long the task takes to run.
If you create a single ScheduledExecutorService you can run a task with any period you suggest with a dynamic number of threads.
e.g.
Execuotrs.newScheduledThreadPool(1);
>
What about programs running once per hour or per day?See previous.
I have used the Windows XP Scheduled Task program to
execute the program. Is this a good method?If it is a couple of times per day or per week this is a good choice.
>
Does anybody know of a better way to do such things?see previous.