Current microsecond time in C?

Question

How can I print current microseconds time in C on Unix platform?

Possible duplicate of [Get a timestamp in C in microseconds?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5833094/get-a-timestamp-in-c-in-microseconds) Now possible with `timespec_get` from C11: http://stackoverflow.com/a/36095514/895245 — Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.com, Mar 18 '16 at 22:49

score 7 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 14 '11 at 20:09

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In Linux and BSDs, you can use the gettimeofday() function. This populates a timeval struct which has a field for seconds since the epoch and a field for microseconds. This function is deprecated. The higher resolution clock_gettime() is the favored replacement, however Mac OS X does not implement it. I'm not sure if Windows implements either of these.

answered Mar 14 '11 at 20:09

Matt K

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For higher resolution than microseconds on OS X, try this answer: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5167269/clock-gettime-alternative-in-mac-os-x – Matt K Dec 07 '12 at 15:35

6502 · Answer 2 · 2011-03-14T20:11:59.140

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There is no portable (multiplatform) way to get that number. On Linux (or other POSIX systems) for example there is the call gettimeofday that provides exactly that precision (accuracy however will depend if that timing is available and implemented on the specific hardware).

edited Mar 14 '11 at 20:11

answered Mar 14 '11 at 20:05

6502

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Strictly speaking I think it provides that *precision*, not necessarily that accuracy. But AFAIK it's the best you're going to get for wall clock time. – Steve Jessop Mar 14 '11 at 20:09
@Steve Jessop: Thanx. Corrected. – 6502 Mar 14 '11 at 20:12

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 14 '11 at 20:04

The C standard doesn't provide a standard means for that. However the clock() function returns time in CLOCK's. there are CLOCKS_PER_SEC CLOCK's in a second. On my machine and implementation, CLOCKS_PER_SEC is defined as 1000. Both clock and CLOCKS_PER_SEC are defined in <time.h>. Hope this helped

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 14 '11 at 20:03

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If you are on linux, I would check out this site: http://rabbit.eng.miami.edu/info/functions/time.html Particularly the 'gettimeofday' function. Which you can pass a structure, and get the time of day in microseconds.

answered Mar 14 '11 at 20:03

Adam

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Current microsecond time in C?

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