Creating a timer in python

Question

import time
def timer():
   now = time.localtime(time.time())
   return now[5]


run = raw_input("Start? > ")
while run == "start":
   minutes = 0
   current_sec = timer()
   #print current_sec
   if current_sec == 59:
      mins = minutes + 1
      print ">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>", mins

I want to create a kind of stopwatch that when minutes reach 20 minutes, brings up a dialog box, The dialog box is not the problem. But my minutes variable does not increment in this code.

Hey Guys, I don't think my question is been answered The concept is to write a code that pops up a dialog box after some specified that time — user2711485, Aug 23 '13 at 15:24
Your code attempts to print a timer tick every minute. Do you want the final code to do that, or just pop up a dialog box? — tdelaney, Aug 23 '13 at 15:30
Just a pop up at the end of probably 15 minutes that i'll set — user2711485, Aug 23 '13 at 15:33
here's [how to call a function with a delay using different libraries: Tkinter, Twisted, Asyncio, Gtk](http://stackoverflow.com/a/14040516/4279) — jfs, Oct 28 '14 at 09:19

score 69 · Answer 1 · edited Jan 08 '18 at 00:37

69

See Timer Objects from threading.

How about

from threading import Timer

def timeout():
    print("Game over")

# duration is in seconds
t = Timer(20 * 60, timeout)
t.start()

# wait for time completion
t.join()

Should you want pass arguments to the timeout function, you can give them in the timer constructor:

def timeout(foo, bar=None):
    print('The arguments were: foo: {}, bar: {}'.format(foo, bar))

t = Timer(20 * 60, timeout, args=['something'], kwargs={'bar': 'else'})

Or you can use functools.partial to create a bound function, or you can pass in an instance-bound method.

edited Jan 08 '18 at 00:37

Antony Thomas

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answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:12

Antti Haapala -- Слава Україні

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why do i need the "time.sleep(1500)" – user2711485 Aug 23 '13 at 15:31
it is an example so that your main does not drop out right away :D – Antti Haapala -- Слава Україні Aug 23 '13 at 15:32
In gui application you would just continue your mainloop. – Antti Haapala -- Слава Україні Aug 23 '13 at 15:32
OKay, so your code means when t is started it executes anything in the timeout function in that time interval? – user2711485 Aug 23 '13 at 15:36
the timeout function is executed once after 20 minutes. – Antti Haapala -- Слава Україні Aug 23 '13 at 15:37
What if we need to pass an argument in timeout() ? – Saurabh Verma Jul 29 '14 at 05:49
I want to use this to program an LCD screen timeout (after x seconds the light is off). How can I check if the timer is already running to reset it? (if the user pressa a button and extends LCD timeout, in other words) – Pitto Nov 08 '15 at 18:43
This is _much_ more elegant than the accepted answer since it doesn't block the hole process. – palsch Feb 05 '16 at 19:10

score 31 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 16 '19 at 15:39

31

You can really simplify this whole program by using time.sleep:

import time
run = raw_input("Start? > ")
mins = 0
# Only run if the user types in "start"
if run == "start":
    # Loop until we reach 20 minutes running
    while mins != 20:
        print(">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> {}".format(mins))
        # Sleep for a minute
        time.sleep(60)
        # Increment the minute total
        mins += 1
    # Bring up the dialog box here

edited Nov 16 '19 at 15:39

phoenix

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answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:13

1

What does time.sleep do? – user2711485 Aug 23 '13 at 15:15
@user2711485 - It suspends the computer for however many seconds you tell it (in this case 60, which is a minute). In other words, it is saying "do nothing until this time runs out". – Aug 23 '13 at 15:17
1

Is it possible to have other code running while using time.sleep() eg if you were making a game could the timer run in the background or would everything stop when time.sleep() is called? – Qwertie Jul 11 '14 at 03:59
1

@Qwertieϟ - Everything would be suspended until the call to `time.sleep` finished. That is the purpose of `time.sleep`: to stop program execution for a certain period of time. – Jul 11 '14 at 14:20
2

@Qwertieϟ - Use [Timer objects](https://docs.python.org/2/library/threading.html#timer-objects) for that. Or the [threading](https://docs.python.org/2/library/threading.html) library in general. – Poik Sep 02 '14 at 18:46
What is raw_input. I get-> NameError: name 'raw_input' is not defined – uplearned.com Aug 05 '19 at 10:24

score 7 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:25

7

I'd use a timedelta object.

from datetime import datetime, timedelta

...
period = timedelta(minutes=1)
next_time = datetime.now() + period
minutes = 0
while run == 'start':
    if next_time <= datetime.now():
        minutes += 1
        next_time += period

answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:25

Silas Ray

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3

While this works, constantly running while loops can consume a lot of processing power. Adding a sleep period (even only a second) can greatly reduce that usage. – Russia Must Remove Putin Feb 02 '16 at 20:55
2

Definitely. [Busy waiting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busy_waiting) loops are "considered an anti-pattern and should be avoided, as processor time that could be used to execute a different task is instead wasted on useless activity." – martineau Jul 18 '16 at 13:55

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:14

Your code's perfect except that you must do the following replacement:

minutes += 1 #instead of mins = minutes + 1

or

minutes = minutes + 1 #instead of mins = minutes + 1

but here's another solution to this problem:

def wait(time_in_seconds):
    time.sleep(time_in_seconds) #here it would be 1200 seconds (20 mins)

David · Answer 5 · 2013-08-23T15:22:49.563

1

mins = minutes + 1

should be

minutes = minutes + 1

Also,

minutes = 0

needs to be outside of the while loop.

edited Aug 23 '13 at 15:22

answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:09

David

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Also, `minutes = 0` needs to be outside of the `while` loop if you are going to stick with this code. But really, he should probably just use something better suited to the task. – Silas Ray Aug 23 '13 at 15:13
How about `minutes += 1`? – Lanaru Aug 23 '13 at 15:19

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:35

I want to create a kind of stopwatch that when minutes reach 20 minutes, brings up a dialog box.

All you need is to sleep the specified time. time.sleep() takes seconds to sleep, so 20 * 60 is 20 minutes.

import time
run = raw_input("Start? > ")
time.sleep(20 * 60)
your_code_to_bring_up_dialog_box()

score 1 · Answer 7 · edited Dec 23 '14 at 20:48

1

# this is kind of timer, stop after the input minute run out.    
import time
min=int(input('>>')) 
while min>0:
    print min
    time.sleep(60) # every minute 
    min-=1  # take one minute

edited Dec 23 '14 at 20:48

answered Oct 25 '14 at 22:04

Karrar Ali

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hope my poor language would be helpful – Karrar Ali Oct 27 '14 at 23:59

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Feb 10 '15 at 11:12

1

import time 

...

def stopwatch(mins):
   # complete this whole code in some mins.
   time.sleep(60*mins)

...

answered Feb 10 '15 at 11:12

tortue

113
5

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Oct 06 '17 at 06:39

1

import time
mintt=input("How many seconds you want to time?:")
timer=int(mintt)
while (timer != 0 ):
    timer=timer-1
    time.sleep(1)
    print(timer)

This work very good to time seconds.

answered Oct 06 '17 at 06:39

ssssssssssssssssssss

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score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:10

0

You're probably looking for a Timer object: http://docs.python.org/2/library/threading.html#timer-objects

answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:10

lmjohns3

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Using a timer object could get tricky if the action it triggers is non-trivial. You have to deal with thread synchronization issues if you use a timer. – Silas Ray Aug 23 '13 at 15:15

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:12

0

Try having your while loop like this:

minutes = 0

while run == "start":
   current_sec = timer()
   #print current_sec
   if current_sec == 59:
      minutes = minutes + 1
      print ">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>", mins

answered Aug 23 '13 at 15:12

m-oliv

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score 0 · Answer 12 · edited Nov 09 '16 at 21:02

0

import time
def timer(n):
    while n!=0:
        n=n-1
        time.sleep(n)#time.sleep(seconds) #here you can mention seconds according to your requirement.
        print "00 : ",n
timer(30) #here you can change n according to your requirement.

edited Nov 09 '16 at 21:02

CDspace

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answered Nov 09 '16 at 07:16

shiva

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score 0 · Answer 13 · answered May 17 '17 at 21:30

import time
def timer():
   now = time.localtime(time.time())
   return now[5]


run = raw_input("Start? > ")
while run == "start":
   minutes = 0
   current_sec = timer()
   #print current_sec
   if current_sec == 59:
      mins = minutes + 1
      print ">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>", mins

I was actually looking for a timer myself and your code seems to work, the probable reason for your minutes not being counted is that when you say that

minutes = 0

and then

mins = minutes + 1

it is the same as saying

mins = 0 + 1

I'm betting that every time you print mins it shows you "1" because of what i just explained, "0+1" will always result in "1".

What you have to do first is place your

minutes = 0

declaration outside of your while loop. After that you can delete the

mins = minutes + 1

line because you don't really need another variable in this case, just replace it with

minutes = minutes + 1

That way minutes will start off with a value of "0", receive the new value of "0+1", receive the new value of "1+1", receive the new value of "2+1", etc.

I realize that a lot of people answered it already but i thought it would help out more, learning wise, if you could see where you made a mistake and try to fix it.Hope it helped. Also, thanks for the timer.

score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Jan 13 '22 at 15:14

0

from datetime import datetime
now=datetime.now()
Sec=-1
sec=now.strftime("%S")
SEC=0
while True:
    SEC=int(SEC)
    sec=int(sec)
    now=datetime.now()
    sec=now.strftime("%S")
    if SEC<sec:
        Sec+=1
    SEC=sec
print(Sec) #the timer is Sec

answered Jan 13 '22 at 15:14

CTH

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As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please [edit] to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Jan 14 '22 at 00:26

Creating a timer in python

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