Periodically Query an external API on wordpress site

Question

I am creating a wordpress site that will periodically retrieve data from an API and use that data to update info in the wp_users table.

I don't really know how to go about this. I'll start with 2 questions:

1. The API can return batch data. If I make a batch call, is there a way to update all the users at once?**

2. Say I want to make the API call once an hour when the site is live. How do I set that up? I tried to search but I don't even know if I am googling the right words.**

Thank you!

Answer 1

1. You can use wp->query calls to loop through the users table and update each row in a loop.
2. Probably would need to use cron jobs for this, this is different for every host but you basically would tell it to run your php script at intervals.