CODEWITHSUNDEEP
django
babbaggeii
babbaggeii

Reputation: 7747

Django: can functions within views run continuously even as other requests are made?

I'm trying to create a function that, when called, will extract information from an external source at irregular (and undefined) intervals. This data will then be placed in a database for later retrieval. I want this to be then running in the background even as other page requests are made. Is this possible?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 1342

Answers (2)

Pratik Mandrekar
Pratik Mandrekar

Reputation: 9568

Since you seem to need the function to be called when a page is loaded, you can put it inside your view as

def my_view(request):
    #Call the long running function
    long_running_function()
    #Do view logic and return
    return HttpResponse(...)

To handle the long_running_function you could use celery and create a tasks.py which implements your external data source logic. Creating tasks, adding to the queue and configuring celery is summarized here

If you just need a simpler solution for trying it out, take a look at the subprocess module.

A very similar answer here Django: start a process in a background thread?

Upvotes: 0

supervacuo
supervacuo

Reputation: 9262

The best way to run a Django function outside the request/response cycle is to implement it as a custom management command, which you can then set to run periodically using cron.

If you're already using it, celery supports periodic tasks using celerybeat, but this requires configuring and running the celerybeat daemon, which can be a headache. Celery also supports long-running tasks (things started in a view, but completing in their own time), as described in your question title.

Upvotes: 1

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