Oolite JavaScript Reference: Timer - Revision history

Wildeblood: /* Links */ Damn it, got the wrong line!

2026-02-21T08:54:18Z

‎Links: Damn it, got the wrong line!

Wildeblood: /* Links */ I cringe at all these links to me Cholly added.

2026-02-21T08:50:24Z

‎Links: I cringe at all these links to me Cholly added.

Cholmondely: Added Wildeblood's User page

2025-04-29T10:36:57Z

Added Wildeblood's User page

Cholmondely: Added more about Frame Callbacks

2024-07-31T10:58:02Z

Added more about Frame Callbacks

Phkb: Updating BB links

2024-02-29T02:19:34Z

Updating BB links

Cholmondely: /* Links */ Added another

2023-02-02T21:36:06Z

‎Links: Added another

Massively Locked: cleared up wording

2022-09-29T17:41:48Z

cleared up wording

Cholmondely: Added link

2022-06-21T23:30:55Z

Added link

Debresser: Page moved. No need for _ in links.

2016-01-16T20:35:26Z

Page moved. No need for _ in links.

Timer at 10:13, 31 July 2014

2014-07-31T10:13:28Z

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 == Links ==
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21355 Unrooted Timers and Garbage Collection] (Nite Owl, 2023)
-*[[User:Wildeblood]] - see "My "How-to" OXPs" - A collection of micro-OXPs, each demonstrating a particular Oolite JavaScript technique, which might be helpful to others seeking an example to copy.
+*[[User:Wildeblood]] - see "My "How-to" OXPs" - A collection of micro-OXPs, each demonstrating a particular Oolite JavaScript technique, several of which feature timers.
 === Frame Callbacks ===
 Frame callbacks are user-defined JavaScript functions that run on every single game "frame update".
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?p=256981#p256981 The normal, widely-used standard for creating the callback function] (Phkb, 2017)
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?t=8941 Jens Ayton explaining frame callbacks] (2011)
 [[Category:Oolite JavaScript Reference]]

@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?p=256981#p256981 The normal, widely-used standard for creating the callback function] (Phkb, 2017)
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?t=8941 Jens Ayton explaining frame callbacks] (2011)
-*[[User:Wildeblood]] - see "My "How-to" OXPs" - A collection of micro-OXPs, each demonstrating a particular Oolite JavaScript technique, which might be helpful to others seeking an example to copy.
+*[[User:Wildeblood]] - see "My "How-to" OXPs" - A collection of micro-OXPs, each demonstrating a particular Oolite JavaScript technique, several of which feature timers.
 [[Category:Oolite JavaScript Reference]]

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 == Links ==
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21355 Unrooted Timers and Garbage Collection] (Nite Owl, 2023)
 === Frame Callbacks ===
 Frame callbacks are user-defined JavaScript functions that run on every single game "frame update".
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?p=256981#p256981 The normal, widely-used standard for creating the callback function] (Phkb, 2017)
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?t=8941 Jens Ayton explaining frame callbacks] (2011)
 [[Category:Oolite JavaScript Reference]]

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 == Constructor ==
   '''new Timer'''(this : Object, function : Function, delay : Number [, interval : Number]) : Timer
-Creates a new timer which will call <code>function</code> after <code>delay</code> seconds, and optionally repeatedly every <code>interval</code> seconds. If <code>delay</code> is zero or more, the timer will be started automatically. If <code>interval</code> is 0 or less, the timer will not repeat. If <code>interval</code> is greater than 0 but less than 0.25, it will be rounded up to 0.25.
+Creates a new timer which will call <code>function</code> after <code>delay</code> seconds, and optionally repeatedly every <code>interval</code> seconds. If <code>delay</code> is zero or more, the timer will be started automatically. If <code>interval</code> is 0 or less, the timer will not repeat. If <code>interval</code> is greater than 0 but less than 0.25, it will be rounded up to 0.25. The timer "fires" roughly 4 times a second. For more accuracy (needed for ''eg''. animations, see Frame Callbacks in links below).
 If <code>delay</code> is negative and <code>interval</code> is positive, the timer will initially be stopped. After it is started, it will fire at multiples of <code>interval</code> after its creation time. For instance, if a timer is created stopped with a five-second interval, and started after seven seconds, it will fire after three seconds (which is ten seconds after it was created).
@@ Line 39: / Line 40: @@
 == Links ==
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?p=256981#p256981 The normal, widely-used standard for creating the callback function] (Phkb, 2017)
-*[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21355 Unrooted Timers and Garbage Collection] (Nite Owl, 2023)
+*[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?t=8941 Jens Ayton explaining frame callbacks] (2011)
 [[Category:Oolite JavaScript Reference]]

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 == Links ==
-*[http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?p=256981#p256981 The normal, widely-used standard for creating the callback function] (Phkb, 2017)
+*[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?p=256981#p256981 The normal, widely-used standard for creating the callback function] (Phkb, 2017)
-*[http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21355 Unrooted Timers and Garbage Collection] (Nite Owl, 2023)
+*[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21355 Unrooted Timers and Garbage Collection] (Nite Owl, 2023)
 [[Category:Oolite JavaScript Reference]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 Creates a new timer which will call <code>function</code> after <code>delay</code> seconds, and optionally repeatedly every <code>interval</code> seconds. If <code>delay</code> is zero or more, the timer will be started automatically. If <code>interval</code> is 0 or less, the timer will not repeat. If <code>interval</code> is greater than 0 but less than 0.25, it will be rounded up to 0.25.
-If <code>delay</code> is negative and <code>interval</code> is positive, the timer will initially be stopped. After it is start, it will fire at multiples of <code>interval</code> after its creation time. For instance, if a timer is created stopped with a five-second interval, and started after seven seconds, it will fire after ten seconds.
+If <code>delay</code> is negative and <code>interval</code> is positive, the timer will initially be stopped. After it is started, it will fire at multiples of <code>interval</code> after its creation time. For instance, if a timer is created stopped with a five-second interval, and started after seven seconds, it will fire after three seconds (which is ten seconds after it was created).
 If the <code>this</code> parameter becomes invalid (usually because it’s attached to a ship that’s destroyed, or left behind when the player executes a hyperspace jump), the timer will be stopped and removed automatically. You should use [[Oolite JavaScript Reference: Ship script event handlers#entityDestroyed|entityDestroyed]] in ship scripts to clean up timers.

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:30, 21 June 2022
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	Important: Always stop a timer before deleting its JS reference, or a copy of the object will stay around in a timer queue and will keep firing. Without explicit stopping, the timer will only stop with an error when the script it belongs to no longer exists.		Important: Always stop a timer before deleting its JS reference, or a copy of the object will stay around in a timer queue and will keep firing. Without explicit stopping, the timer will only stop with an error when the script it belongs to no longer exists.
		+
		+	== Links ==
		+	*[http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?p=256981#p256981 The normal, widely-used standard for creating the callback function] (Phkb, 2017)

	[[Category:Oolite JavaScript Reference]]		[[Category:Oolite JavaScript Reference]]

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 If <code>delay</code> is negative and <code>interval</code> is positive, the timer will initially be stopped. After it is start, it will fire at multiples of <code>interval</code> after its creation time. For instance, if a timer is created stopped with a five-second interval, and started after seven seconds, it will fire after ten seconds.
-If the <code>this</code> parameter becomes invalid (usually because it’s attached to a ship that’s destroyed, or left behind when the player executes a hyperspace jump), the timer will be stopped and removed automatically. You should use [[Oolite_JavaScript_Reference:_ship_script_event_handlers#entityDestroyed|entityDestroyed]] in ship scripts to clean up timers.
+If the <code>this</code> parameter becomes invalid (usually because it’s attached to a ship that’s destroyed, or left behind when the player executes a hyperspace jump), the timer will be stopped and removed automatically. You should use [[Oolite JavaScript Reference: Ship script event handlers#entityDestroyed|entityDestroyed]] in ship scripts to clean up timers.
 == Properties ==

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 '''Timer''' objects are used to perform tasks after a delay or on a repeating schedule. When a timer is created, it is given a function to call, and a ''delay'' and an optional ''interval'' in seconds in [[Time scales in Oolite#Game real time|game real time]]. The ''next fire time'' of the timer is set to the current time + the delay. When the game clock reaches (or passes) the next fire time, the function is called. If the timer has a positive interval, the interval is added to the next fire time. Otherwise, the timer stops.
-'''Note:''' in order for a timer to work consistently, you must keep a reference to it as long as it is in use. The easiest way is to make it a property of your script: <code>this.timer = new Timer(this, this.doSomething, 5, 5)</code>. If this is not done, the JavaScript runtime may delete the timer at any time to free up memory.
+'''Note:''' in order for a timer to work consistently, you must keep a reference to it as long as it is in use. The easiest way is to make it a property of your script: <code>this._timer = new Timer(this, this.doSomething, 5, 5)</code>. If this is not done, the JavaScript runtime may delete the timer at any time to free up memory.
 == Constructor ==