C#: How to start a thread at a specific time [duplicate]

Answer 1

You can set up a timer at 16:00. I've answered a similar question here. That should help you for sure.

private System.Threading.Timer timer;
private void SetUpTimer(TimeSpan alertTime)
{
     DateTime current = DateTime.Now;
     TimeSpan timeToGo = alertTime - current.TimeOfDay;
     if (timeToGo < TimeSpan.Zero)
     {
        return;//time already passed
     }
     this.timer = new System.Threading.Timer(x =>
     {
         this.SomeMethodRunsAt1600();
     }, null, timeToGo, Timeout.InfiniteTimeSpan);
}

private void SomeMethodRunsAt1600()
{
    //this runs at 16:00:00
}

Then set it up using

SetUpTimer(new TimeSpan(16, 00, 00));

Edit: Keep the reference of the Timer as it's subject to garbage collection irrespective of the Timer is active or not.

Answer 2

A very simple solution:

if (DateTime.Now.Hour > 16)
{
    MethodtoRunAt1600();
}
else
{
    var next16 = new DateTime(DateTime.Now.Year, DateTime.Now.Month, DateTime.Now.Day, 16, 0, 0);
    var timer = new Timer(MethodtoRunAt1600, null, next16 - DateTime.Now, TimeSpan.FromHours(24));
    timer.Start()
}

Answer 3

Here's a simple way to schedule a method to be called once, either immediately or at 16:00.

var runAt = DateTime.Today + TimeSpan.FromHours(16);
if(runAt < DateTime.Now)
{
    MethodtoRunAt1600();    
}
else
{
    var dueTime = runAt - DateTime.Now;
    var timer = new System.Threading.Timer(_ => MethodtoRunAt1600(), null, dueTime, TimeSpan.Zero); 
} 

Answer 4

Can we use like this?

DispatcherTimer timer ;
// When application is started
if (DateTime.Now.Hour == 16)
{
   // Start your task
}
else
{
    timer = new DispatcherTimer();
    timer.Interval = new TimeSpan(0, 1, 0);
    timer.Tick += timer_Tick;
    timer.Start();
}

Then check for every one minute..

void timer_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (DateTime.Now.Hour == 16)
    {
        // Start your task
    }
}

Answer 5

If you're looking for something "quick and dirty"... then you could just start your thread in the thread pool, and "wait" for the right time.

// By the way, this code would be *INSIDE* of the background thread. That's what
// the sentence above says, but apparently we devs only read code :)
while (DateTime.Now.TimeOfDay < myDesiredStartTime)
{
    Thread.Sleep(1000);
}

Answer 6

you can do it with a timer:

public class OncePerDayTimer : IDisposable
{
    private DateTime _lastRunDate;
    private TimeSpan _time;
    private Timer _timer;
    private Action _callback;

    public OncePerDayTimer(TimeSpan time, Action callback)
    {
        _time = time;
        _timer = new Timer(CheckTime, null, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1), TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1));
        _callback = callback;
    }

    private void CheckTime(object state)
    {
        if (_lastRunDate == DateTime.Today)
            return;

        if (DateTime.Now.TimeOfDay < _time)
            return;

        _lastRunDate = DateTime.Today;
        _callback();
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        if (_timer == null)
            return;

        _timer.Dispose();
        _timer = null;
    }
}