Execute an operation every x seconds for y minutes in c#

Question

I need to run a function every 5 seconds for 10 minutes.

I use a timer to run it for 5 secs, but how do I limit the timer to only 10 mins?

Answer 1

Timer.Stop() after 120 Ticks.

Answer 2

Divide the Y minutes by the X interval to get how many times it needs to run. After that you just need to count how many times the function has been called.

In your case, 10 min = 600 seconds / 5 seconds = 120 calls needed. Just have a counter keep track of how many times your function has been called.

Answer 3

You can set two timers one that run for 5 secs and the other one that run for 10min and disable the first one

Answer 4

You could use a second timer:

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        int interval = 5 * 1000; //milliseconds
        int duration = 10 * 60 * 1000; //milliseconds

        intervalTimer = new System.Timers.Timer(interval);
        durationTimer = new System.Timers.Timer(duration);

        intervalTimer.Elapsed += new System.Timers.ElapsedEventHandler(intervalTimer_Elapsed);
        durationTimer.Elapsed += new System.Timers.ElapsedEventHandler(durationTimer_Elapsed);

        intervalTimer.Start();
        durationTimer.Start();
    }

    static void durationTimer_Elapsed(object sender, System.Timers.ElapsedEventArgs e)
    {
        intervalTimer.Stop();
        durationTimer.Stop();
    }

    static void intervalTimer_Elapsed(object sender, System.Timers.ElapsedEventArgs e)
    {
        //call your method
    }

    private static System.Timers.Timer intervalTimer;
    private static System.Timers.Timer durationTimer;
}

Answer 5

Just capture the time that you want to stop and end your timer from within the elapsed handler. Here's an example (note: I used a System.Threading.Timer timer. Select the appropriate timer for what you are doing. For example, you might be after a System.Windows.Forms.Timer if you are writing in Winforms.)

public class MyClass
{
    System.Threading.Timer Timer;
    System.DateTime StopTime;
    public void Run()
    {
        StopTime = System.DateTime.Now.AddMinutes(10);
        Timer = new System.Threading.Timer(TimerCallback, null, 0, 5000);
    }

    private void TimerCallback(object state)
    {
        if(System.DateTime.Now >= StopTime)
        {
            Timer.Dispose();
            return;
        }
        // Do your work...
    }
}

Answer 6

Note the start time. In each call, test if currentTime + 5 seconds > startTime + 10 minutes. If so, disable the timer.

I prefer this approach to just running for N ticks, as timers are not guaranteed to fire when you'd like them to. It's possible 120 ticks may run over 10 minutes of real world time.