I want to create a script that 

* must run with a CRON every minute (Q: Is it wise to run CRON FTP/wget every minute?)
* compares local directory with remote directory (Q: do I use FTP or wget and how do I create
* obtains all the newer/changed XML files from the remote directory (Q: How do I throw that into one variable to use in loop later)
* mail notify the administrator as soon as this process fails
* copy newer/changed files\_this\_date to a directory\_this\_date

Is it possible or recommended to segment the scripts into config.sh, ftp.sh, copy.sh, mail.sh.
At the end I have to process the XML files with PHP

I know this is many questions (some parts has been solved) but for now I want to get an

* 1) opinion on viability/analysis
* 2) how to get $variable = (ls newer/changed files?)