What is the best way to implement a "timer"?

Question

What is the best way to implement a timer? A code sample would be great! For this question, "best" is defined as most reliable (least number of misfires) and precise. If I specify an interval of 15 seconds, I want the target method invoked every 15 seconds, not every 10 - 20 seconds. On the other hand, I don't need nanosecond accuracy. In this example, it would be acceptable for the method to fire every 14.51 - 15.49 seconds.

Answer 1

Use the Timer class.

public static void Main()
{
    System.Timers.Timer aTimer = new System.Timers.Timer();
    aTimer.Elapsed += new ElapsedEventHandler(OnTimedEvent);
    aTimer.Interval = 5000;
    aTimer.Enabled = true;

    Console.WriteLine("Press \'q\' to quit the sample.");
    while(Console.Read() != 'q');
}

 // Specify what you want to happen when the Elapsed event is raised.
 private static void OnTimedEvent(object source, ElapsedEventArgs e)
 {
     Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
 }

The Elapsed event will be raised every X amount of milliseconds, specified by the Interval property on the Timer object. It will call the Event Handler method you specify. In the example above, it is OnTimedEvent.