title: Cron job for php script that requires VERY long execution time
body: <p>I have a php script run as a cron job that executes a set of simple tasks that loops for each user in the database and takes about 30 mins to complete.  This process starts over every hour and needs to be as fast and efficient as possible. The problem Im having, is like with any server script, execution time varies and I need to figure out the best cron time settings.</p>
  
  <p>If I run cron every minute, I need to stop the last loop of the script 20 seconds before the end of the minute to make sure that the current loop finishes in time. Over the course of the hour this adds up to a lot of wasted time.</p>
  
  <p>Im wondering if its a bad idea to simple remove the php execution time limit and run the script once an hour and let it run to completion.... is this a bad idea?</p>