Develop Reference

Print something to console after x milliseconds

I'm trying to figure out how to make it so, after lets say, 1 minute so 60000 milliseconds the console will say hi.
All I have so far is
System.Timers.Timer timer = new System.Timers.Timer(60000);
timer.Start();
But I don't know how to make it so when the timer is done, it will do something.

You can use the elapse event, when 60000 ms has pass the event will be thrown. Example of the elapse event:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
System.Timers.Timer timer = new System.Timers.Timer(60000);
timer.Elapsed += new System.Timers.ElapsedEventHandler(elapse); // subscribing to the elapse event
timer.Start(); // start Timer
Console.ReadLine(); // hold compiler until key pressed
}
private static void elapse(object sender, ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Hy");
}
}

or
void Main()
{
var t = new System.Threading.Timer((s)=>Console.WriteLine("Hi"),null,0,60000);
Console.ReadLine();
}

You can use System.Threading.Thread.Sleep if you only want to do the write once (the timer will run every x seconds):
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(60000);
Console.WriteLine("something");

What you will want to do is create an event that writes to the console when the timer has elapsed the predefined amount of time.
This is done as follows:
Start by creating your timer and set it to 60s:
var timer = new System.Timers.Timer(60000); //60seconds
Next create an event that will be triggered when the time has elapsed:
private static void MyEvent(object sender, ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Hello World");
}
Next, bind the timer to that event:
timer.Elapsed += MyEvent;
What this does is tell the computer that when the timer actually starts running in the future and then the timer elapses (60s passes after the timer starts), then the Event called 'MyEvent' will be called which writes to the console.
Finally Start the timer:
timer.Start();
And wait for the even to trigger and write to the console.

Timer kills task/job if it runs longer than timer interval

I would to make a timer which behaviour is like this:
if processing time of task/job is less than timer interval, start timer in (timer.interval - processing time job/job)
if processing time of job/task is more than timer interval, start next job/task immediatly
Code below works but I would like to know why in the ElapsedEventHandler method job/task must be first done and then we can set new timer interval. Elapsed event of System.Timers.Timer is raised when interval has elapsed. With the option AutoReset = false we set that the Timer raises the Elapsed event only once, after the first Interval has elapsed. We have to then manually call Timer.Start() to start it again.
using System;
using System.Timers;
namespace TestTimer
{
class Program
{
private static Timer t;
private static double intervalMiliseconds;
static void Main(string[] args)
{
intervalMiliseconds = 5000; // 5 seconds
t = new Timer();
t.Interval = intervalMiliseconds;
t.AutoReset = false;
t.Elapsed += new ElapsedEventHandler(OnTimedEvent);
t.Start();
log("Timer started at " + DateTime.Now.ToString());
log("Interval is: " + defaultIntervalMiliseconds);
Console.ReadKey();
}
private static void log(string text)
{
Console.WriteLine(text + "\n");
}
private static void OnTimedEvent(object source, ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
// if t.Interval is set here thread just kills the job if it
// runs longer than interval
t.Interval = intervalMiliseconds;
log("ElapsedEvent triggered at " + DateTime.Now.ToString());
// job
DateTime startTime = DateTime.Now;
log("job started" );
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(8000); // 8 sec
log("job ended" );
TimeSpan jobTime = DateTime.Now.Subtract(startTime);
log("job took " + jobTime.TotalSeconds + " seconds");
// if we set t.Interval here it works so first the job
// must be done and than we can set timer interval ? why ?
//t.Interval = intervalMiliseconds;
if (jobTime.TotalMilliseconds < t.Interval)
{
t.Interval = t.Interval - jobTime.TotalMilliseconds;
log("Job ended Earlier starting Event in: " + t.Interval);
}
else
{
t.Interval = 100;
log("Job overpass interval. Current time: " +
DateTime.Now.ToString());
}
t.AutoReset = false;
t.Start();
}
}
}
Result of this:
If we comment t.Interval at the start of method OnTimedEvent and uncomment t.Interval after the job has done everything works. Result of this:
Why we can not set timer interval at the start of method OnTimedEvent. If we do if the task/job runs longer than the timer interval, thread just kills the job. I would really appreciate if anyone has some ideas? Does this have to do with synhronization of thread with main thread (which timer runs)? When we call method OnTimedEvent the timer will not call that method again because it has AutoReset = false, what difference does it make where we set timer properties?

t.Interval = intervalMiliseconds;
That's indeed the troublemaker. It is pretty unintuitive behavior, one that the MSDN article for Timer.Interval specifically warns about in a Note:
If Enabled and AutoReset are both set to false, and the timer has previously been enabled, setting the Interval property causes the Elapsed event to be raised once, as if the Enabled property had been set to true. To set the interval without raising the event, you can temporarily set the AutoReset property to true.
It's a fairly silly hack but does work. Just delaying assigning the value is certainly the better way to do it. Doing it early doesn't buy you anything, other than trouble, the timer isn't going tick anyway since you've got AutoReset = false.
System.Threading.Timer is the better timer class with many fewer quirks. It for one doesn't swallow exceptions without any diagnostic in the callback method. Which your code is quite sensitive to, the timer will just stop ticking since the exception bypasses the t.Start() call and you'll have no idea why. Strongly recommended.

!! No and never Timer kill task/job if it runs longer than timer interval !!
if processing time of task/job is less than timer interval,
after timer interval/span.
if processing time of job/task is more than timer interval,
start next job/task after timer interval/span into a new Thread.
so for minimizing idle time you should keep timer interval small.
In System.Timers.Timer class internally already Threading Implemented. so don`t need to implements threading.

Synchronizing a service with a timer

I'm trying to write a service in c# that should be run on a given interval (a timeout) from a given date. If the date is in the future the service should wait to start until the date time is reached.
Example:
If I set a timeout to be 1 hour from 21:00:00 I want the program to run every hour
If I set a timeout to be 1 hour from 3999.01.01 21:00:00 I want the program to until date and from then run each hour
I have sort of achieved that with the following code, but it has some problems!
When I install the service (with installutil) the service is marked as starting because of the 'Thread.Sleep()'. This service appears to be hanging and is "installing" until started.
The code inside 'ServiceTimer_Tick()' might take longer than the expected timeout. How can I prevent the timer stack from increasing if that happens?
Alternatives I've thought of :
include using the 'timeout.Interval' first time and then resetting it subsequent calls, but it doesn't feel right.
I've also considered ditching the entire service idea and compile it as a executable and set up a scheduled tasks.
Shortened example:
public Service()
{
_timeout = new TimeSpan(0,1,0,0);
_timer = new System.Timers.Timer();
_timer.Interval = _timeout.TotalMilliseconds;
_timer.Elapsed += new ElapsedEventHandler(ServiceTimer_Tick);
}
private void ServiceTimer_Tick(object sender, System.Timers.ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
lock (_obj)
{
// Stuff that could take a lot of time
}
}
public static void Main()
{
Run(new Service());
}
protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
long current = DateTime.Now.Ticks;
long start = new DateTime(2010,9,15,21,0,0).Ticks;
long timeout = _timeout.Ticks;
long sleep;
if (current > start)
sleep = timeout - ((current % timeout)) + (start % timeout);
else
sleep = start - current;
Thread.Sleep(new TimeSpan(sleep));
_timer.AutoReset = true;
_timer.Enabled = true;
_timer.Start();
}

This is easier with a System.Threading.Timer. You can tell it how long to wait before the first tick, and then how often to tick after that.
So, if you wanted to wait 2 days before starting, and then do something once per hour, you'd write:
Timer MyTimer = new Timer(TimerCallback, null, TimeSpan.FromHours(48), TimeSpan.FromHours(1));
That said, if this is something that only has to run once per hour, then it sounds like what you really want is an executable that you then schedule with Windows Task Scheduler.

You can use a System.Threading.Timer. It supports both a dueTime and a period which is just what you need.

you have to move the timer logic to a separate thread that you spawn from your OnStart routine. Then your logic cannot interfere with the SCM and the service will start normally.
Edit: Just to elaborate - for this task I don't think timers work very well, since you are not taking clock corrections into account which could lead to a skew (or even be incorrect if the user manually changes the clock time). That's why comparing to the clock time in small intervals is imo preferred.
The Run routine of that thread could look like this:
public void run()
{
while (processing)
{
//initiate action on every full hour
if (DateTime.Now.Second == 0 && DateTime.Now.Minute == 0)
{
//Do something here
DoSomething();
//Make sure we sleep long enough that datetime.now.second > 0
Thread.Sleep(1000);
}
Thread.Sleep(100);
}
}

How to reset a timer in C#?

There are three Timer classes that I am aware of, System.Threading.Timer, System.Timers.Timer, and System.Windows.Forms.Timer, but none of these have a .Reset() function which would reset the current elapsed time to 0.
Is there a BCL class that has this functionality? Is there a non-hack way of doing it? (I thought perhaps changing the time limit on it might reset it) Thought on how hard it would be to reimplement a Timer class that had this functionality, or how to do it reliably with one of the BCL classes?

I always do ...
myTimer.Stop();
myTimer.Start();
... is that a hack? :)
Per comment, on Threading.Timer, it's the Change method ...
dueTime Type: System.Int32 The
amount of time to delay before the
invoking the callback method specified
when the Timer was constructed, in
milliseconds. Specify
Timeout.Infinite to prevent the
timer from restarting. Specify zero
(0) to restart the timer immediately.

All the timers have the equivalent of Start() and Stop() methods, except System.Threading.Timer.
So an extension method such as...
public static void Reset(this Timer timer)
{
timer.Stop();
timer.Start();
}
...is one way to go about it.

For System.Timers.Timer, according to MSDN documentation, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.timers.timer.enabled.aspx:
If the interval is set after the Timer has started, the count is
reset. For example, if you set the interval to 5 seconds and then set
the Enabled property to true, the count starts at the time Enabled is
set. If you reset the interval to 10 seconds when count is 3 seconds,
the Elapsed event is raised for the first time 13 seconds after
Enabled was set to true.
So,
const double TIMEOUT = 5000; // milliseconds
aTimer = new System.Timers.Timer(TIMEOUT);
aTimer.Start(); // timer start running
:
:
aTimer.Interval = TIMEOUT; // restart the timer

You could write an extension method called Reset(), which
calls Stop()-Start() for Timers.Timer and Forms.Timer
calls Change for Threading.Timer

I just assigned a new value to the timer:
mytimer.Change(10000, 0); // reset to 10 seconds
It works fine for me.
at the top of the code define the timer: System.Threading.Timer myTimer;
if (!active)
myTimer = new Timer(new TimerCallback(TimerProc));
myTimer.Change(10000, 0);
active = true;
private void TimerProc(object state)
{
// The state object is the Timer object.
var t = (Timer)state;
t.Dispose();
Console.WriteLine("The timer callback executes.");
active = false;
// Action to do when timer is back to zero
}

For a Timer (System.Windows.Forms.Timer).
The .Stop, then .Start methods worked as a reset.

You can do timer.Interval = timer.Interval

I do the following.
Disposing the timer and initializing it again.
But this will erase any event you attached to this timer.
timer.Dispose();
timer = new System.Timers.Timer();

Other alternative way to reset the windows.timer is using the counter, as follows:
int timerCtr = 0;
Timer mTimer;
private void ResetTimer() => timerCtr = 0;
private void mTimer_Tick()
{
timerCtr++;
// Perform task
}
So if you intend to repeat every 1 second, you can set the timer interval at 100ms, and test the counter to 10 cycles.
This is suitable if the timer should wait for some processes those may be ended at the different time span.

i do this
//Restart the timer
queueTimer.Enabled = true;

Execute an operation every x seconds for y minutes in c#

I need to run a function every 5 seconds for 10 minutes.
I use a timer to run it for 5 secs, but how do I limit the timer to only 10 mins?

Just capture the time that you want to stop and end your timer from within the elapsed handler. Here's an example (note: I used a System.Threading.Timer timer. Select the appropriate timer for what you are doing. For example, you might be after a System.Windows.Forms.Timer if you are writing in Winforms.)
public class MyClass
{
System.Threading.Timer Timer;
System.DateTime StopTime;
public void Run()
{
StopTime = System.DateTime.Now.AddMinutes(10);
Timer = new System.Threading.Timer(TimerCallback, null, 0, 5000);
}
private void TimerCallback(object state)
{
if(System.DateTime.Now >= StopTime)
{
Timer.Dispose();
return;
}
// Do your work...
}
}

Have your timer loop something like this:
DateTime endTime = DateTime.Now.AddMinutes(10);
while(endTime < DateTime.Now)
{
// Process loop
}

Divide the Y minutes by the X interval to get how many times it needs to run. After that you just need to count how many times the function has been called.
In your case, 10 min = 600 seconds / 5 seconds = 120 calls needed. Just have a counter keep track of how many times your function has been called.

Timer.Stop() after 120 Ticks.

just use a DateTime variable to track when it should end and set that right before you start. The on your Elapsed event handler, check if the signal time is less than the end time. If it isn't, stop the timer.

You can calculate how times your function will be call, and create decrement counter, after elapsed which you unsubscribe from timer tick. Or you can Run another timer which have tick period - 10 min and on tick you unsubscribe from timer tick calling your function.

Note the start time. In each call, test if currentTime + 5 seconds > startTime + 10 minutes. If so, disable the timer.
I prefer this approach to just running for N ticks, as timers are not guaranteed to fire when you'd like them to. It's possible 120 ticks may run over 10 minutes of real world time.

You can set two timers one that run for 5 secs and the other one that run for 10min and disable the first one

You could use a second timer:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int interval = 5 * 1000; //milliseconds
int duration = 10 * 60 * 1000; //milliseconds
intervalTimer = new System.Timers.Timer(interval);
durationTimer = new System.Timers.Timer(duration);
intervalTimer.Elapsed += new System.Timers.ElapsedEventHandler(intervalTimer_Elapsed);
durationTimer.Elapsed += new System.Timers.ElapsedEventHandler(durationTimer_Elapsed);
intervalTimer.Start();
durationTimer.Start();
}
static void durationTimer_Elapsed(object sender, System.Timers.ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
intervalTimer.Stop();
durationTimer.Stop();
}
static void intervalTimer_Elapsed(object sender, System.Timers.ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
//call your method
}
private static System.Timers.Timer intervalTimer;
private static System.Timers.Timer durationTimer;
}