Develop Reference

Settimeout and ClearTimeout

i need to restart a setTimeout after stopping it with a clearTimeout
the code is like:
function start(){timeout = setTimeout(function(){...}, 1000}
function increment(){interval();}
function stop(){clearTimeout(timeout)}
better explained:
function start() is a timeout of 1000ms for another function that recall start().
function increment() just add +1 to a value every 1000s but it doesn't matter with the problem.
the last function stop() stops the setTimeout in the function start().
i need to stop the setTimeout in start() for just 1000ms and then let it continue working.

ok.... i "avoid" the problem....
i need to stop the setTimeout for 1000ms and then let it works normally...
i tried so... instead of pausing the setTimeout I put another time var.
var time = 1000;
var timecache = 1000;
fatica = 3000;
sudore = 3000;
function interval() { timeout = setTimeout(increment, time);} //here setTimeout uses var time//
function increment(){console.log(time);point += 1;document.getElementById("pul").value = point;interval();}
function fermafatica() {time = timecache;setInterval(ferma, fatica);} //here the function equals time to timecache so vas time is always 1000ms//
function ferma(){time = 10000; setTimeout(fermafatica, sudore);} // then here I transformed the time in 10000 so the first function will take 10000 instead of 1000 in setTimeout//
//plus i put a setTimeout to recall function fermafatica() that reset the time to 1000//
this i what i want... I avoid the problem and found another way to do that... but it works... thank you anyway

interval keeps firing even though clearInterval has been called

I am trying to get a function to run 10 times with a pause inbetween each run, yet when I try to it repeats the function infinite times then after 10 times it pauses, and so on. Right now this is the code with the problem:
for(i=0;i<10;i++) {
console.log(i);
interval = setInterval(function() {console.log("Function ran");}, 1000);
}
window.clearInterval(interval);
Console:0123456789Function ran["Function ran" is repeated infinite times after "9"]

interval = setInterval(function() {console.log("Function ran");}, 1000);
This line creates a new interval-instance each time, which means you have created 10 intervals. At the end of the loop interval holds the id of the last interval that was created. Hence that's the only one you're clearing, and the other ones are still running.
To cancel the interval, you need to keep track of how many times the function has been invoked. One way you can do that is as follows:
function pauseAndRepeat(delay, iterations, func) {
var i = 0;
var interval = setInterval(function() {
func();
if(++i === iterations) {
clearInterval(interval);
}
}, delay);
}
Here we have a function that defines a counter (i) in its local scope. Then it creates an interval using a function that checks the counter to see if it should call your function (func) or clear the interval when it is done. interval will have been set when the interval-handler is actually called. In this case the handler is basically a closure since it is bound to the local scope of pauseAndRepeat.
Then you can invoke the function as follows:
pauseAndRepeat(1000, 10, function() {
console.log("Function ran");
});
This will print out Function ran ten times, pausing for a second each time.

setInterval is expected to run forever, on an interval. Every time you call setInterval here, you have a new infinite loop running your function every 10s, and as others have noted you only are canceling the last one.
You may do better with chained setTimeout calls:
var counter = 0;
function next() {
if (counter < 10) {
counter++;
setTimeout(function() {
console.log("Function ran");
next();
}, 1000);
}
}
next();
This chains delayed functions, setting a timeout for the next one after each runs. You can do something similar with setInterval and cancellation:
var counter = 0;
var intervalId = setInterval(function() {
console.log("Function ran");
if (++counter >= 10) {
clearInterval(intervalId);
}
}, 1000);
In both these cases the key issue is that you trigger the next run or cancel the interval within the callback function, not in synchronous code.

Wait before a javascript function can be called again

I've looked at many different solutions to this, none of which worked. I know it has something to do with setTimeout, but I don't know how to implement it properly.
function myfunction()
{
//the function
//wait for 1 second before it can be ran again
}
To clarify: I don't want to call the function at a regular interval, I want to be able to enforce a delay before the function can be called again.

var lastTime = 0;
function myFunction() {
var now = new Date().getTime(); // Time in milliseconds
if (now - lasttime < 1000) {
return;
} else {
lastTime = now;
}
// rest of function
}

You don't need to use setTimeout at all. The following is similar to other answers, but uses a closure to remember the last time the function ran rather than a global variable.
var myFunction = function() {
var lastTime = new Date();
return function() {
var now = new Date();
if ((now - lastTime) < 1000) return;
lastTime = now;
/* do stuff */
};
}());

I think the easiest solution would be to hold a boolean variable and reset it to true after a given delay.
fiddle
HTML
<button id="clickme">click me!</button>
JavaScript
var canGo = true,
delay = 1000; // one second
var myFunction = function () {
if (canGo) {
canGo = false;
// do whatever you want
alert("Hi!");
setTimeout(function () {
canGo = true;
}, delay)
} else {
alert("Can't go!");
}
}
$("#clickme").click(function(){
myFunction();
})
With this, you hold a boolean, canGo, and set it to true. If the function is run, it sets canGo to false and sets a setTimeout() for a time period of delay, in milliseconds. If you try to run the function again, it won't run and will, instead, alert("Can't go!"). This was just for demonstrative purposes; you don't need that part. After delay, canGo will be set to true, and you will be able to once more run the function.

var lastRan = 0;
var myFunction = function() {
var now = Date.now();
if(now-lastRan < 1000) {
return;
}
lastRan = now;
//rest of function
};

You may want to use throttle or debounce from underscore.js
http://underscorejs.org/#throttle
throttle_.throttle(function, wait, [options])
Creates and returns a
new, throttled version of the passed function, that, when invoked
repeatedly, will only actually call the original function at most once
per every wait milliseconds. Useful for rate-limiting events that
occur faster than you can keep up with.
By default, throttle will execute the function as soon as you call it
for the first time, and, if you call it again any number of times
during the wait period, as soon as that period is over. If you'd like
to disable the leading-edge call, pass {leading: false}, and if you'd
like to disable the execution on the trailing-edge, pass {trailing:
false}.
var throttled = _.throttle(updatePosition, 100);
$(window).scroll(throttled);
http://underscorejs.org/#debounce
debounce_.debounce(function, wait, [immediate])
Creates and returns a
new debounced version of the passed function which will postpone its
execution until after wait milliseconds have elapsed since the last
time it was invoked. Useful for implementing behavior that should only
happen after the input has stopped arriving. For example: rendering a
preview of a Markdown comment, recalculating a layout after the window
has stopped being resized, and so on.
Pass true for the immediate parameter to cause debounce to trigger the
function on the leading instead of the trailing edge of the wait
interval. Useful in circumstances like preventing accidental
double-clicks on a "submit" button from firing a second time.
var lazyLayout = _.debounce(calculateLayout, 300);
$(window).resize(lazyLayout);

If you just want to run your function again after a set time, you can use setTimeout and pass it the function to run and the delay period in milliseconds.
function myfunction() {
//the function
//run again in one second
setTimeout(myfunction, 1000);
}
Edited based on poster's comments:
var waiting = false;
var myfunction = function() {
if (!waiting) {
//Run some code
waiting = setTimeout(function() {
waiting = false;
}, 1000);
}
};

Variable disappears next time the function is called?

My alert does not execute, why!? Shouldn't it appear every 1000 millisecond, after the second time it runs?
function MAINGAMELOOP() {
if (!window.GAMESPEED){
var GAMESPEED = 1000;
} else {
alert("hi");
}
setTimeout(MAINGAMELOOP, GAMESPEED);
}

Instead of GAMESPEED = 1000; you want window.GAMESPEED = 1000;.

It's setInterval, not setTimeout. SetTimeout will execute a function once, after the specified delay.

Accurately run a function when the minute changes?

How could I accurately run a function when the minute changes? Using a setInterval could work if I trigger it right when the minute changes. But I'm worried setInterval could get disrupted by the event-loop in a long-running process and not stay in sync with the clock.
How can I run a function accurately when the minute changes?

First off, you should use setInterval for repeating timers, since it (tries to) guarantee periodic execution, i.e. any potential delays will not stack up as they will with repeated setTimeout calls. This will execute your function every minute:
var ONE_MINUTE = 60 * 1000;
function showTime() {
console.log(new Date());
}
setInterval(showTime, ONE_MINUTE);
Now, what we need to do is to start this at the exact right time:
function repeatEvery(func, interval) {
// Check current time and calculate the delay until next interval
var now = new Date(),
delay = interval - now % interval;
function start() {
// Execute function now...
func();
// ... and every interval
setInterval(func, interval);
}
// Delay execution until it's an even interval
setTimeout(start, delay);
}
repeatEvery(showTime, ONE_MINUTE);

This may be an idea. The maximum deviation should be 1 second. If you want it to be more precise, lower the milliseconds of setTimeout1.
setTimeout(checkMinutes,1000);
function checkMinutes(){
var now = new Date().getMinutes();
if (now > checkMinutes.prevTime){
// do something
console.log('nextminute arrived');
}
checkMinutes.prevTime = now;
setTimeout(checkChange,1000);
}
1 But, see also this question, about accuracy of timeouts in javascript

You can try to be as accurate as you can, setting a timeout each X milliseconds and check if the minute has passed and how much time has passed since the last invocation of the function, but that's about it.
You cannot be 100% sure that your function will trigger exactly after 1 minute, because there might be something blocking the event-loop then.
If it's something vital, I suggest using a cronjob or a separate Node.js process specifically for that (so you can make sure the event loop isn't blocked).
Resources:
http://www.sitepoint.com/creating-accurate-timers-in-javascript/

I've put up a possible solution for you:
/* Usage:
*
* coolerInterval( func, interval, triggerOnceEvery);
*
* - func : the function to trigger
* - interval : interval that will adjust itself overtime checking the clock time
* - triggerOnceEvery : trigger your function once after X adjustments (default to 1)
*/
var coolerInterval = function(func, interval, triggerOnceEvery) {
var startTime = new Date().getTime(),
nextTick = startTime,
count = 0;
triggerOnceEvery = triggerOnceEvery || 1;
var internalInterval = function() {
nextTick += interval;
count++;
if(count == triggerOnceEvery) {
func();
count = 0;
}
setTimeout(internalInterval, nextTick - new Date().getTime());
};
internalInterval();
};
The following is a sample usage that prints the timestamp once every minute, but the time drift is adjusted every second
coolerInterval(function() {
console.log( new Date().getTime() );
}, 1000, 60);
It's not perfect, but should be reliable enough.
Consider that the user could switch the tab on the browser, or your code could have some other blocking tasks running on the page, so a browser solution will never be perfect, it's up to you (and your requirements) to decide if it's reliable enough or not.

Tested in browser and node.js
sleeps until 2 seconds before minute change then waits for change
you can remove logging as it gets pretty cluttered in log otherwise
function onMinute(cb,init) {
if (typeof cb === 'function') {
var start_time=new Date(),timeslice = start_time.toString(),timeslices = timeslice.split(":"),start_minute=timeslices[1],last_minute=start_minute;
var seconds = 60 - Number(timeslices[2].substr(0,2));
var timer_id;
var spin = function (){
console.log("awake:ready..set..");
var spin_id = setInterval (function () {
var time=new Date(),timeslice = time.toString(),timeslices = timeslice.split(":"),minute=timeslices[1];
if (last_minute!==minute) {
console.log("go!");
clearInterval(spin_id);
last_minute=minute;
cb(timeslice.split(" ")[4],Number(minute),time,timeslice);
console.log("snoozing..");
setTimeout(spin,58000);
}
},100);
};
setTimeout(spin,(seconds-2)*1000);
if (init) {
cb(timeslice.split(" ")[4],Number(start_minute),start_time,timeslice,seconds);
}
}
}
onMinute(function (timestr,minute,time,timetext,seconds) {
if (seconds!==undefined) {
console.log("started waiting for minute changes at",timestr,seconds,"seconds till first epoch");
} else {
console.log("it's",timestr,"and all is well");
}
},true);

My first thought would be to use the Date object to get the current time. This would allow you to set your set interval on the minute with some simple math. Then since your worried about it getting off, every 5-10 min or whatever you think is appropriate, you could recheck the time using a new date object and readjust your set interval accordingly.
This is just my first thought though in the morning I can put up some code(its like 2am here).

This is a fairly straightforward solution ... the interval for the timeout is adjusted each time it's called so it doesn't drift, with a little 50ms safety in case it fires early.
function onTheMinute(callback) {
const remaining = 60000 - (Date.now() % 60000);
setTimeout(() => {
callback.call(null);
onTheMinute(callback);
}, remaining + (remaining < 50 ? 60000 : 0));
}

Here's yet another solution based on #Linus' post and #Brad's comment. The only difference is it's not working by calling the parent function recursively, but instead is just a combination of setInterval() and setTimeout():
function callEveryInterval(callback, callInterval){
// Initiate the callback function to be called every
// *callInterval* milliseconds.
setInterval(interval => {
// We don't know when exactly the program is going to starts
// running, initialize the setInterval() function and, from
// thereon, keep calling the callback function. So there's almost
// surely going to be an offset between the host's system
// clock's minute change and the setInterval()'s ticks.
// The *delay* variable defines the necessary delay for the
// actual callback via setTimeout().
let delay = interval - new Date()%interval
setTimeout(() => callback(), delay)
}, callInterval, callInterval)
}
Small, maybe interesting fact: the callback function only begins executing on the minute change after next.

The solution proposed by #Linus with setInterval is in general correct, but it will work only as long as between two minutes there are exactly 60 seconds. This seemingly obvious assumption breaks down in the presence of a leap second or, probably more frequently, if the code runs on a laptop that get suspended for a number of seconds.
If you need to handle such cases it is best to manually call setTimeout adjusting every time the interval. Something like the following should do the job:
function repeatEvery( func, interval ) {
function repeater() {
repeatEvery( func, interval);
func();
}
var now = new Date();
var delay = interval - now % interval;
setTimeout(repeater, delay);
}