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How macOS schedules and dispatches background tasks using CTS 3

What does it take for an app to have ‘activities’ managed for efficiency by CTS? Not a lot – but in return, the management is a black box.

October 15, 2020 Macs, Technology

How macOS schedules and dispatches background tasks using CTS 2

In the first article in this series, I explained how a great many background activities in macOS, including […]

October 14, 2020 Macs, Technology

How macOS schedules and dispatches background tasks using CTS 1

Rather than using cron or launchd, many background services in macOS are now run using Centralized Task Scheduling (CTS). This is how it works.

October 13, 2020 Macs, Technology

Reliability of macOS Sierra: scheduled and background activities

Scheduling background activities like making backups has moved from cron to launchd, and now to a more complex system. This has reduced the reliability of macOS and made it harder to support.

August 26, 2017 Macs, Technology

Two ways to run background tasks: comparing launchd and GCD

Background activities scheduled by third-party software currently use launchd, and run the risk of affecting the user. Would GCD be a better choice of dispatcher?

May 5, 2017 Macs, Technology

How timely are scheduled events in Sierra?

Schedule a periodic task as a Launch Agent. How close to the expected time does macOS actually run it?

March 23, 2017 Macs, Technology

Irregular Time Machine backups: is this a launchd bug?

Does macOS scheduling fail when it has been running for more than 10 days? Irregular backups suggest that it does.

February 8, 2017 Macs, Technology

Jack of all tasks: launchd, and how to run periodic tasks

T T Read More

If the kernel is the heart of OS X, launchd is its brain. Use it to run periodic tasks such as synchronising folders automatically.

June 13, 2016 Macs, Technology

Service with a Smile

T T Read More

Macs are increasingly reliant on background services, and increasingly vulnerable to their problems. Mastering the services on your Mac will help make it faster and more stable.

May 13, 2015 Macs, Technology
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