Chapter 12. Create a Console Application to Automate the Periodic Task

In this chapter, we will learn how to write a console application and will discover the main differences between web and console apps.

Then, we will create our first console controller, using a practical example to illustrate how to update a database table.

In the final paragraphs, we will see how to set output colors and text formats and how to implement a complete periodic task, such as sending an e-mail with daily reservations. We will cover the following topics in this chapter:

• Interacting with console applications

• Creating a console controller

  • Example – setting an alarm flag for expired reservation

• Formatting the output from the console

• Implementing and executing cron jobs

  • Example – sending an e-mail with new reservations of the day