What is the command to schedule a one-time execution of a command?

The command used to schedule a one-time execution of a command is the 'at' command. This command is designed to allow users to specify a command that should run at a particular time in the future, effectively enabling one-time scheduling of tasks. With 'at', you can enter the command you wish to run and specify the time you want it to execute.

For example, if you wanted to schedule a command to run at 3 PM today, you would enter echo "your_command" | at 15:00. The advantage of using 'at' is that it is simple and straightforward for tasks that do not require repetitive scheduling.

Other options have different functionalities. The 'cron' command is used for scheduling recurring tasks, making it suitable for jobs that need to run at regular intervals, such as daily or weekly. The 'batch' command is used to schedule commands to be executed when the system load allows, typically for non-urgent tasks that can run when system resources are available. The name 'schedule' is not an actual command related to task scheduling in Linux.

Understanding the specific purposes of these scheduling commands helps in choosing the right tool for the task at hand.