Can I use Google App Engine for processing data?

Question

Hello,

I would like to execute some long running JRuby scripts [ nothing to do with web requests and url fetch ] on Google App Engine. There is a 30 seconds limit on URL Fetch requests. Does the same apply for plain JRuby/Python scripts? If yes, is there a workaround?

Answer 1

The 30-second applies to everything that happens on AppEngine. It's really not an ideal platform for hosting long-running processes. There are some techniques that you can use to simulate what you want. Task Queues can be set up to perform work in the background, for example.

Still, you might want to look into one of the vast variety of hosting alternatives that will let you simply launch a process and let it keep running.