Aliases

By default a job is represented by its JobType and function handle. If multiple jobs are scheduled that have identical type and handle, it can be difficult to distinguish between these.

The example below shows how a hypothetical function for ordering goods is reused and cannot be uniquely identified in the table below for the given orders.

>>> import datetime as dt

>>> from scheduler import Scheduler

>>> def order(unit):
...     print(f"ordering {unit} units")
...

>>> schedule = Scheduler()

>>> job1 = schedule.cyclic(dt.timedelta(seconds=1), order, args=(2,))
>>> job2 = schedule.cyclic(dt.timedelta(seconds=1), order, args=(9,))
>>> print(schedule)  
max_exec=inf, tzinfo=None, priority_function=linear_priority_function, #jobs=2

type     function / alias due at                 due in      attempts weight
-------- ---------------- ------------------- --------- ------------- ------
CYCLIC   order()          2022-05-04 14:51:25   0:00:00         0/inf      1
CYCLIC   order()          2022-05-04 14:51:26   0:00:00         0/inf      1

To avoid confusion in the job representation, use the alias keyword as listed below:

>>> schedule = Scheduler()

>>> job1 = schedule.cyclic(dt.timedelta(seconds=1), order, alias="small order", args=(2,))
>>> job2 = schedule.cyclic(dt.timedelta(seconds=2), order, alias="medium order", args=(9,))
>>> print(schedule)  
max_exec=inf, tzinfo=None, priority_function=linear_priority_function, #jobs=2

type     function / alias due at                 due in      attempts weight
-------- ---------------- ------------------- --------- ------------- ------
CYCLIC   small order      2022-05-04 14:54:33   0:00:00         0/inf      1
CYCLIC   medium order     2022-05-04 14:54:34   0:00:00         0/inf      1

Note

This feature is available for both, the default threading Scheduler and the asyncio Scheduler.