[javascript] JavaScript sleep/wait before continuing

I have a JavaScript code that I need to add a sleep/wait function to. The code I am running is already in a function, eg:

function myFunction(time)
{
    alert('time starts now');
    //code to make the program wait before continuing
    alert('time is up')
}

I have heard that a possible solution might include

setTimeout

but I am not sure how to use it in this case.

I can't use PHP, as my server does not support it, although using jQuery would be fine.

This question is related to javascript jquery delay sleep wait

The answer is


JS does not have a sleep function, it has setTimeout() or setInterval() functions.

If you can move the code that you need to run after the pause into the setTimeout() callback, you can do something like this:

//code before the pause
setTimeout(function(){
    //do what you need here
}, 2000);

see example here : http://jsfiddle.net/9LZQp/

This won't halt the execution of your script, but due to the fact that setTimeout() is an asynchronous function, this code

console.log("HELLO");
setTimeout(function(){
    console.log("THIS IS");
}, 2000);
console.log("DOG");

will print this in the console:

HELLO
DOG
THIS IS

(note that DOG is printed before THIS IS)


You can use the following code to simulate a sleep for short periods of time:

function sleep(milliseconds) {
  var start = new Date().getTime();
  for (var i = 0; i < 1e7; i++) {
    if ((new Date().getTime() - start) > milliseconds){
      break;
    }
  }
}

now, if you want to sleep for 1 second, just use:

sleep(1000);

example: http://jsfiddle.net/HrJku/1/

please note that this code will keep your script busy for n milliseconds. This will not only stop execution of Javascript on your page, but depending on the browser implementation, may possibly make the page completely unresponsive, and possibly make the entire browser unresponsive. In other words this is almost always the wrong thing to do.


Examples related to javascript

need to add a class to an element How to make a variable accessible outside a function? Hide Signs that Meteor.js was Used How to create a showdown.js markdown extension Please help me convert this script to a simple image slider Highlight Anchor Links when user manually scrolls? Summing radio input values How to execute an action before close metro app WinJS javascript, for loop defines a dynamic variable name Getting all files in directory with ajax

Examples related to jquery

How to make a variable accessible outside a function? Jquery assiging class to th in a table Please help me convert this script to a simple image slider Highlight Anchor Links when user manually scrolls? Getting all files in directory with ajax Bootstrap 4 multiselect dropdown Cross-Origin Read Blocking (CORB) bootstrap 4 file input doesn't show the file name Jquery AJAX: No 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header is present on the requested resource how to remove json object key and value.?

Examples related to delay

Delaying function in swift How to create a delay in Swift? How to make java delay for a few seconds? Proper way to wait for one function to finish before continuing? Javascript sleep/delay/wait function How can I perform a short delay in C# without using sleep? How to create javascript delay function JavaScript sleep/wait before continuing Adding delay between execution of two following lines How to put a delay on AngularJS instant search?

Examples related to sleep

How to make the script wait/sleep in a simple way in unity How do I make a delay in Java? How to create a sleep/delay in nodejs that is Blocking? Javascript sleep/delay/wait function How can I perform a short delay in C# without using sleep? How to add a "sleep" or "wait" to my Lua Script? How to create javascript delay function JavaScript sleep/wait before continuing powershell mouse move does not prevent idle mode What is the proper #include for the function 'sleep()'?

Examples related to wait

How to make the script wait/sleep in a simple way in unity How do I make a delay in Java? Wait some seconds without blocking UI execution Protractor : How to wait for page complete after click a button? How to wait until an element is present in Selenium? Javascript sleep/delay/wait function How to wait till the response comes from the $http request, in angularjs? How to add a "sleep" or "wait" to my Lua Script? Concept behind putting wait(),notify() methods in Object class How can I wait for 10 second without locking application UI in android