Before you start scheduling entries, you should understand how the Scheduler executes scripts. The Scheduler can run as a foreground or background task. When you run a schedule in the foreground, it runs on the same thread as the scripts in the iFIX WorkSpace, allowing you to quickly test and debug scripts in the run-time environment. When you run a schedule in the background, it runs on a separate thread from the scripts in the iFIX WorkSpace, monitoring the system and triggering scheduled events.
The Scheduler does not loop; it waits for events to occur. When a selected event occurs, the script is triggered from a schedule running in the background, it is added to the queue, and it executes after the scripts in front of it have finished executing. For this reason, when a schedule is run as a background task it is ideal for monitoring tasks. This is exactly the same as scripts triggered from schedules running as foreground tasks in the iFIX WorkSpace.
Generally, schedules created to run in the foreground are used for testing and debugging. Once a schedule created to run in the foreground has been tested and debugged, we suggest that you set it to run in the background.
This section includes the following topics on how to get started with the Scheduler:
- Using the Scheduler
- Securing Schedules
- Resolving Schedules
- Running Foreground and Background Schedules
- Opening Pictures From Background Schedules
- Debugging VBA Scripts
- Starting the FixBackgroundServer Task
- Adding Schedules to the Background Task Startup List
- Foreground Schedule Checklist
- Background Schedule Checklist
Refer to the Writing Scripts manual for an explanation of how scripts are implemented in the iFIX WorkSpace.
