Schedule Tasks from Your Cloud Application with Nitric
Tags: automation, programming, productivity, cloudcomputing
Published: 2023-07-14 01:31:42

In this blog post, we'll explore [Nitric schedules](https://nitric.io/docs/schedules) and their potential to revolutionize task management, automate processes, and optimize batch work. Nitric schedules, which are essentially cron jobs, offer a way to automate tasks at predefined intervals, enhancing productivity and efficiency. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by multiple tasks or sought a more efficient way to handle repetitive processes, Nitric schedules can be your secret weapon for success. We'll delve into an example that demonstrates the implementation of Nitric schedules using the [Nitric SDK](https://nitric.io/docs/guides/getting-started/concepts). If you prefer a visual walkthrough, you can watch the YouTube video.

{% embed https://youtu.be/mY6WazbNszU %}

In today's blog post, we'll discuss Nitric schedules and how they can streamline your business operations. Nitric schedules are a powerful tool that can automate repetitive tasks, optimize reporting, and improve batch work. Whether you run an e-commerce store or a healthcare facility, Nitric schedules can significantly enhance your productivity.

Let's jump into an example that showcases the implementation of Nitric schedules using the Nitric SDK. We'll focus on two industries: e-commerce and healthcare. By exploring how Nitric schedules can be applied to these industries, you'll gain a better understanding of their potential benefits for your specific business.

## E-Commerce

Now, let's explore how Nitric schedules can be utilized in the e-commerce industry. In this industry, timely inventory updates and effective promotional activities are crucial for success. Nitric schedules offer a way to streamline operations and automate tasks such as inventory updates, order processing, and promotional campaigns. By implementing Nitric schedules, you can save time and effort, allowing you to focus on growing your business.

In Nitric, you can define schedules in two ways: using the `every` syntax for simple rate definitions to trigger the callback, or utilizing the `cron` method for more complex scenarios. Let's take a look at two examples. The "update inventory" example demonstrates the simple every syntax, creating a schedule that runs every 5 minutes. On the other hand, the "send promotional emails" schedule is more intricate, requiring a cron expression to run every Friday at 8 AM. In this case, we utilize the cron method to define the schedule accordingly.

```javascript
import { schedule } from "@nitric/sdk";

schedule("update-inventory").every("5 minutes",async (ctx) => {
    // Code to update the inventory goes here
    console.log("updating inventory...")
})

schedule("send-promotional-emails").cron("0 8 * * 5",async (ctx) => {
    // Code to send promotional emails goes here
    console.log("Sending promotional emails...")
})
```

## Healthcare

Moving on to the healthcare industry, we'll see how Nitric schedules can improve efficiency and accuracy in critical tasks. In healthcare, tasks like patient appointment reminders, report generation, and data analysis require repeated execution. Nitric schedules provide a reliable way to automate these tasks, ensuring better patient care and informed decision-making for healthcare providers.

Here are a couple of examples for Schedules used by the healthcare industry.

```javascript
import { schedule } from "@nitric/sdk";

// send appointment reminders every weekday (Mon through Fri) at 9:00AM
schedule("send-appointment-reminders").cron("0 9 * * 1-5", async (ctx) => {
  // Code to send appointment reminders goes here
  console.log("Sending appointment reminders...");
});

// run daily report every day
schedule("generate-daily-report").every("1 day", async (ctx) => {
  // Code to generate daily report goes here
  console.log("Generating daily report...");
});
```

## Full Example with Prisma and Resend

Here's a more comprehensive example of email processing, incorporating various technologies. The example utilizes [Prisma](https://www.prisma.io/) as the database, [Resend](https://resend.com/) for sending emails, and, of course, [Nitric](https://nitric.io) for managing the schedule and API integration.

```javascript
import { schedule, api } from "@nitric/sdk";
import { PrismaClient } from "@prisma/client";
import { Resend } from "resend";

const prisma = new PrismaClient();
const resend = new Resend("re_123456"); // replace with your own

schedule("process-emails").every("1 day", async (ctx) => {
  const users = await prisma.user.findMany();

  for (const user of users) {
    await resend.emails.send({
      from: "Nitric <sales@nitric.io>",
      to: user.email,
      subject: "Test Email",
      html: `Hello ${user.name},<br />This is a test.`,
    });
  }
});
```

## Recap

As you can see, Nitric schedules offer tremendous benefits to various industries. By automating repetitive tasks and optimizing processes, businesses can achieve higher efficiency, reduce errors, and drive better results. Nitric schedules are easy to implement and test, providing a user-friendly solution for streamlining operations.

In conclusion, Nitric schedules are a powerful tool that can transform how you manage your tasks and automate processes. By harnessing the potential of Nitric schedules, you can unlock greater efficiency, productivity, and success in your industry. To learn more about how Nitric makes cloud development productive, check out our [schedules docs](https://nitric.io/docs/schedules) or jump on our [Discord](https://discord.gg/Webemece5C) for a chat.