> It's the exact opposite of reinventing the wheel.
If I need to write a wrapper script each time I need to run a task on a timer - then it is the proverbial reinventing the wheel. It doesn't matter if you call it a tool, utility or a component. Especially if this was solved decades ago.
> Not understanding the operating system you're using is fine
Using obsolete utilities for the sake of 'doing the right UNIX way' instead of just ticking a checkbox/adding one line in the task configuration?
Come on, I would repeat it again - it was solved for decades. Why do you need to do the things like it's 1976? Why do you insist everyone else should do that way too and abandon the fruits of the digital age?
Why would you use something other than cron for many types of tasks? Not everyone needs a distributed system to run a script periodically, they want to actually get things done. :)
Erm, no - flock(1) is a UNIX tool, a component if you will. It's the exact opposite of reinventing the wheel.
Not understanding the operating system you're using is fine, but it's good to at least know what you don't know.