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Delayed Execution
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40.3 The at Command

The at facility submits a command line (or a script) for execution at an arbitrary later time. It has the form:

% at options time < scriptfile

This submits the scriptfile for execution at a later time. The redirection (<) isn't required on BSD and some other UNIX systems. If you don't want to write a script, you can omit it and type your commands on the terminal, terminated by CTRL-d:

% at options time
Command 1
Command 2
...
[CTRL-d]

The time is most commonly a four-digit number representing a time on a 24-hour clock. For example, 0130 represents 1:30 a.m. and 1400 represents 2 p.m. You can also use abbreviations such as 1am, 130pm, and so on.

- ML from O'Reilly & Associates' System Performance Tuning, Chapter 3


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