Processing large amounts of data in PHP without a browser timeout

Question

I have array of mobile numbers, around 50,000. I\'m trying to process and send bulk SMS to these numbers using third-party API, but the browser will freeze for some minutes

Answer 1

I would write two scripts:

File index.php:

0%

File job.php:

set_time_limit(0);                   // ignore php timeout
ignore_user_abort(true);             // keep on going even if user pulls the plug*
while(ob_get_level())ob_end_clean(); // remove output buffers
ob_implicit_flush(true);             // output stuff directly
// * This absolutely depends on whether you want the user to stop the process
//   or not. For example: You might create a stop button in index.php like so:
//     Stop!
//     Start
// But of course, you will need that line of code commented out for this feature to work.

function progress($percent){
    echo '';
}

$total=count($mobiles);
echo ''; // webkit hotfix
foreach($mobiles as $i=>$mobile){
    // send sms
    progress($i/$total*100);
}
progress(100);
echo ''; // webkit hotfix