Console-Based Task Scheduler

A simple console-based task scheduler that allows users to create, manage, and process tasks based on priority. This project uses a manually implemented linked list–based priority queue to process the highest-priority task first (lower number = higher priority).

Features

• Add tasks with name, priority, and estimated duration
• View all scheduled tasks
• Process the next highest-priority task
• Peek at the front task
• Track the number of tasks in the queue
• Console menu navigation

How It Works

This scheduler uses a custom singly linked list to manage tasks and searches for the task with the lowest priority number during processing. It simulates task execution using time.sleep() based on the task’s duration.

This project does not use built-in heaps or libraries for priority queues — the algorithm is implemented manually to demonstrate my understanding of data structures.

Key Concepts

• Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
• Custom Linked List Implementation
• Priority Queue Behavior
• Console-Based Menus
• Time-Based Task Simulation

Requirements

• Python 3.7+

No external libraries are required.

How to Run

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/task-scheduler.git
   cd task-scheduler
   

2. Run the app:

python task_scheduler.py

3. Follow the menu prompts to add, view or process tasks.

Task Scheduler Menu:
1. Add Task
2. Process Task
3. View Tasks
4. Peek the next task
5. Show number of task in queue
6. Exit

> 1
Enter task name: Backup
Enter priority (lower is higher): 2
Enter duration (in seconds): 5
Task added Successfully.

> 2
Processing: Backup - Priority: 2, Duration: 5s (Estimated Time: 5s)...

Folder Structure

task-scheduler/
│
├── task_scheduler.py    # Main program file
├── README.md            # Project documentation

Future Enhancements

• I planned to use a heapq or a binary heap for more efficient priority queue operations

• Add file-based persistence (save/load tasks)

• Unit tests with unittest or pytest(Not good at testing right now but will be good in the future, still learning)

• GUI or web-based version( After I learn a web framework, lol)

• Add task categories or labels

Contributing

This project was built for personal learning, but contributions and feedback are welcome! Fork the repo, improve features, or refactor the logic.

License

MIT License

Developed by Me(haha): Abraham K. Blama – Learning DSA and applying it to real-world simulations.