Thank you for providing the link. Based on our usage data, I believe optimizing the email certificate task could benefit from implementing caching and batching mechanisms, especially for sites with a substantial number of users. Here are some key statistics from our site:
- Number of Certificates: 5,188+
- Number of Issues: 241,132+
- Number of Courses: 2,991+
- Number of Users: 334,217+
- Number of Enrollments: 519,938+
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Context Table Length: 270,480+
- Moodle Version: 4.2.2+ (Build: 20230929)
- Custom Certificate Version: 4.2.4 (Build: 2023042407)
It seems that the current email certificate task processes all certificates, issues, and enrolled users, and verifies user accesses during each run, causing a considerable delay before initiating email sending. In our case, with a four-hour task runtime limit, the task is terminated before any emails are dispatched.
I propose considering the following workarounds if you think they are useful:
1- Batch Processing:
-Modify the task to handle certificates in batches during each run.
-Implement a mechanism to resume processing from the last stopped point in subsequent runs.
2- Admin Configurable Options:
-Allow administrators to exclude certain older courses from certificate checks, especially those that have been closed for an extended period.
-Introduce parameters allowing administrators to specify the number of certificates processed per run, with a default processing rate (e.g., 10 to 50 certificates) that can be handled in a minute before the next run.
3- Two-Task Approach:
-Divide the task into two components:
a. One task for processing a limited number of certificates at regular intervals.
b. Another task for periodic, comprehensive checks of all certificates, perhaps on a weekly basis.
These suggestions aim to enhance the efficiency of the email certificate task, providing administrators with more control over the processing load based on their environment and requirements.
