I recommend mixing solutions.

Run the script from a cron.

However have the script first try to grab a lock, if it can then it is the only copy running so proceed. If it cannot then exit immediately. Basically the same idea as Highlander - allow only one invocation at a time of an expensive CGI script however exiting is to be expected.

I believe that you will find this approach significantly better for dealing with sporadic problems (lost network connections, unexpectedly high load killing a script, needing to move the script and not losing fact of the detail that it is still in init, etc). It does not solve the problem at hand though.

In reply to Re (tilly) 3: Reasonably accurate timing by tilly
in thread Reasonably accurate timing by traveler

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