1. Batch API
Dániel Kalmár
March 28, 2013

2. What is batch API?

3. What is batch API?
● Batch (execution of a series of “jobs”)
● Application Programming Interface
● Avoid PHP timeout
● Spread out the processing over several page
requests
● Feedback for users (progress bar)
● Cannot use in cron jobs

4. When can batch API be useful?
● designed to integrate with the Form API
workflow
● can be used by non-Form API scripts (update,
page callbacks)
● site install (module install)
● bulk operations (nodes, users)
● search API (indexing)

5. Functions
● batch_get()
● batch_process()
● batch_set()
● hook_batch_alter()
● _batch_populate_queue()
● _batch_queue()

6. How does it work?

7. Configuration

8. Process
● set batch operation
● execute batch operation (only need outside of a
form submit handler)

9. Operations
● $context
● Set the starting values

10. Operations
● update the values in each steps

11. Operations
● check if all the steps have been executed

12. Operations

13. “Finished” callback

14. Cron queue

15. What is cron queue?
● cron
● hooks
● queue API
● limit the processing time of a queue per cron
run

16. When can cron queue be useful?
● processing large amounts of data in cron
● bulk operations (nodes, users)
● regular newsletter sending

17. How does it work?

18. Define a queue
● Implement hook_cron_queue_info()

19. Load the queue
● Loading items in the queue in hook_cron()

20. Process a queue item
● worker callback deals with the individual queue
items

21. Questions?