performing some code, every 5 seconds using system clock possibly??

[Tim Tock]

Hi,
Is it possible to have a java program perform some operation every x amount of seconds, something like{
(every 5 seconds) do{
system.out.println("I print out every 5 seconds");
}
obviously the code inbetween the brackets is a little bit more complicated than that
Thanks
Timmy

[Michael Dunn]

Try this

import java.util.*;
class TimerEX
{
  public TimerEX()
  {
    final java.util.Timer tmr = new java.util.Timer();
    tmr.scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimerTask()
    {
      int ctr;
      public void run()
      {
        System.out.println("Another 5 seconds");
        ctr++;
        if(ctr==5) tmr.cancel();
      }
    },0,5000);
  }
  public static void main(String args[]){new TimerEX();}  
}

[Mark Vedder]

You can also take a look at example368. Scheduling a Timer Task to Run Repeatedly at www.javaalmanac.com

[Tim Tock]

cheers mark, the first example worked a treat!!

[Dirk Schreckmann]

Also, note that a simple Thread.sleep(long millis) might do the trick well enough at times.

public class Foo
{
  private static void performTask()
  {
    System.out.println("Task performed at time " + System.currentTimeMillis());
  }
            
  public static void main(String[] args)
  {
    long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
    while (System.currentTimeMillis() < startTime + 20000)
    {
      System.out.println("Performing task...");
      performTask();
      try
      {
        Thread.sleep(5000);
      }
      catch (InterruptedException e)
      {
        e.printStackTrace();
      }
    }
  }
}

[Layne Lund]

Originally posted by Dirk Schreckmann:
Also, note that a simple Thread.sleep(long millis) might do the trick well enough at times.

Note that this doesn't guarantee an exact amount of time that is paused. If the OS is busy doing something else when the time runs out, it may well keep doing what it is doing rather than restarting your program.
I guess I shouldn't go too deep into this issue since it really isn't a beginner topic. I just thought I'd mention it.
Layne

[Dirk Schreckmann]

I think that's a good thing to point out.
Just because we're beginners, doesn't mean it hurts us to learn some detail that might be good to know about a little bit down the line. So, please don't hesitate to mention the occasional detail, especially if it's important and might help to create an understanding of an issue.