OJS 2.x is capable of performing regularly-scheduled automated tasks with the help of the operating system, which is responsible for launching the tools/runScheduledTasks.php script via a mechanism like UNIX's cron. Scheduled tasks must be enabled in the config.inc.php configuration file and the journal's settings.
Automated tasks are configured in registry/scheduledTasks.xml and information like the date of a task's last execution is stored in the scheduled_tasks database table.
The ScheduledTask model class and the associated ScheduledTaskDAO are responsible for managing these database entries. In addition, the scheduled tasks themselves are implemented in the classes/tasks directory. Currently, only the ReviewReminder task is implemented, which is responsible for reminding reviewers that they have an outstanding review to complete or indicate acceptance of.
These tasks, which extend the ScheduledTask model class and are launched by the runScheduledTasks tool, must implement the execute() method with the task to be performed.