Subject: Re: Updating /etc...
To: Olaf Seibert <rhialto@mbfys.kun.nl>
From: Todd C. Miller <Todd.Miller@cs.colorado.edu>
List: current-users
Date: 12/21/1995 11:16:29
In message <199512201524.QAA27756@septimius.mbfys.kun.nl>
	so spake Olaf Seibert (rhialto):

> > For many third-party packages, there is something that needs to run
> > when the system boots, or shuts down, or (ick) at run level change.
> 
> Speaking of which, how about an extension to cron(tabs) that allows
> users to run their jobs at boottime?

Paul Vixie's cron (the one used in NetBSD) already supports this.
However, it looks like this is not documented in the man page.
Instead of a time/date string you use "@reboot".  Ie:
    @reboot touch /tmp/bogus
will create the file /tmp/bogus at reboot.  Actually, this is
a bit of a misnomer since "reboot" really just means when cron starts
up.  If you kill & restart cron, the @reboot jobs will run again.

The other '@' strings are:
    @yearly and @annually (equivalent)
    @monthly
    @weekly
    @daily
    @hourly

 - todd