Ever wondered what to use to execute a set of action after a certain time? setTimeout Method is the answer.
Do not get confuse with setInterval method. The difference is setInterval methods repeats a set of code after the wait and setTimeout just waits for the specified time and executes the code once.
We can specify milliseconds in setTimeout method.
Here’s the complete syntax for setTimeout() Method
setTimeout(function, interval, args...)
Where function(required) is nothing but JS code as a function. IE 4 and earlier versions don’t support this parameter.
interval is required and we can pass milliseconds.
In args (optional) parameters we can pass any number of parameters. Not supported in IE 9 and earlier versions.
So, we can rewrite the syntax like this:
setTimeout(code, interval)
What does it return?
Well the execution has to stop. So, it returns a value that we can pass to Window.clearTimeout( ) which then can be used to cancel the execution of the supplied code or function.
We must use a variable when creating the setTimeout method to stop the timer using the clearTimeout method.
setTimeout() Method Examples
You can use a seperate function or add the function inside setTimeout method.
Here are both ways to do it.
In the first example above, we can use this code to stop the timer execution.
clearTimeout(example);
How to pass parameters in setTimeout()?
Here’s how:
The above method doesn’t work in in IE9 and earlier!
Use this anonymous function instead for all browsers compatibilty:
examples method setInterval setTimeout
