How can I use setTimeout with bigint?

Question

I am trying to use setTimeout with a bigint to avoid exceeding the 32 bit integer limit(which did happened in my code) while incrmenting the timeout timer.

setTimeout(console.log, 500n, "I waited 500 ms");

However I got this error thrown: Uncaught TypeError: Cannot convert a BigInt value to a number

I tried to do this:

setTimeout(console.log, Number(500n), "I waited 500 ms");

However I am not sure if the 500 will still be converted to a big integer.

Another thing I tried to do was to convert it using the ++ operator however it threw me the error: Uncaught TypeError: Cannot convert a BigInt value to a number

let _500 = 500n
setTimeout(console.log, _500++, "I waited 500 ms");

If you convert it, you are just passing a regular Number, so there's no point. How exactly are you "exceeding the 32 bit integer limit"? — Aioros, Mar 18 '21 at 20:18
You cant. It expects an integer. But to be fair I cant think of any case where you would put a delay even closely exceeding the limit. — JavaScript, Mar 18 '21 at 20:25
I am trying to iterate over a array of element while incrementing a timeout ms variable — The epic face 007, Mar 18 '21 at 20:29
But you are aware how long a delay of 2147483647ms would be? None is gonna leave the client open for ~25 days. — JavaScript, Mar 18 '21 at 20:30
No I wasn't realzing that my timeout gonna make the client open for 25 days. — The epic face 007, Mar 18 '21 at 20:32

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 18 '21 at 20:29

3

Browsers including Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari, and Firefox store the delay as a 32-bit signed integer internally. This causes an integer overflow when using delays larger than 2,147,483,647 ms (about 24.8 days), resulting in the timeout being executed immediately.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WindowOrWorkerGlobalScope/setTimeout#maximum_delay_value

answered Mar 18 '21 at 20:29

connexo

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I guess this is the case for node js aswell. Am I rightÉ – The epic face 007 Mar 19 '21 at 01:25

zero298 · Accepted Answer · 2021-03-18T20:37:17.527

2

This is an XY problem. You are going to get inconsistent results at best setting timeout to max value. Use a cron tool for this.

If this isn't for a server, I'm not sure that any user will keep their browser open for the 24 days (2147483647 millis) that would hit the limit of setTimeout. If this is for a server, a cron tab is really going to serve you better.

If you absolutely must use a large value, you could set up a wrapper that would create new timeouts as the previous one ends until you have waited the entire time.

edited Mar 18 '21 at 20:37

answered Mar 18 '21 at 20:21

zero298

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What is a "cron tool" – The epic face 007 Mar 18 '21 at 20:28
https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=g7hTYOSpFszbgwfq0JmoCA&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYFPGkxoXiEuX8-8DDevNlfkxKqNBBFfv&q=cron+tool&oq=cron+tool&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyAggAMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeOg4IABDqAhC0AhDZAhDlAjoICAAQsQMQgwE6BQgAELEDOgUILhCxAzoCCC46CwgAELEDEMcBEKMCOggIABDHARCvAToECAAQCjoICAAQFhAKEB5Q0A5Y0xlg6RtoAXAAeACAAW-IAcwGkgEDNi4zmAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdperABCA&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwik98nR17rvAhXM7eAKHWpoBoUQ4dUDCAg&uact=5 – connexo Mar 18 '21 at 20:31

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 18 '21 at 20:18

1

2147483647 would be just fine, know your bit limits

answered Mar 18 '21 at 20:18

It's not because in my program I increase the 500 by 1000 each time a loop has finish and it reaches the 32 bit integer – The epic face 007 Mar 18 '21 at 20:20

How can I use setTimeout with bigint?

3 Answers3