Develop Reference

Executor service to run every x seconds

What is the correct way to get an executor service to submit every x number of seconds?
public void start() {
executorService.submit(new Runnable() {
public void run(){
ScheduledFuture<Integer> result = executorService.schedule(value, x, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
});
}
Would wrapping the contents of the run method in a while(!Thread.currentThread().isInterrupted()) be a valid approach - if not how should this be done?
Thanks

Use ScheduledExecutorService:
ScheduledExecutorService ses = Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(10);
ses.scheduleAtFixedRate(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// do some work
}
}, 0, x, TimeUnit.SECONDS); // execute every x seconds

Execute method every second

I want to execude some code every second in android, but I'd like to do is in one thread (main thread). So far I have this:
locationTimer = new Timer("locationTimer", false);
locationTimer.schedule(new LocationCheckerTask(this), 0, 1000);
public class LocationCheckerTask extends TimerTask {
private GeoWatcher watcher;
public LocationCheckerTask(Context context) {
watcher = new GeoWatcher(context);
}
#Override
public void run() {
// funky stuff
}
}
Unfortunately, Timer class runs it's tasks on another thread.
Why I want to do this in a single thread?
Code in run() method will be executing really fast, so I figured I don't need another thread for it. What I want to do is to construct separate threads in run() method based on condition calculated every second. So instead of having child thread constructing another threads, I'd like to do this on the main one.

You can do this with Handler
public class Job implements Runnable{
private Handler handler;
public Job () {
handler = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper());
loop();
}
#Override
public void run() {
// funky stuff
loop();
}
private void loop() {
handler.postDelayed(this, 1000);
}
}

use runOnUiThread(Runnable) method of Activity to run the task in UI Thread
public class LocationCheckerTask extends TimerTask {
private GeoWatcher watcher;
public LocationCheckerTask(Context context) {
watcher = new GeoWatcher(context);
}
#Override
public void run() {
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// funky stuff
}
});
}
}

the Handler is a perfect candidate for such tasks (dont try to combine TimerTask + runOnUiThread - it is useless as it uses a Handler under the hood)

private Runnable fiveSecondRunnable = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
if (count5 < 0) {
switchT030Sec();
} else {
tvSec5.setText(""+count5);
Log.v("5sec set", "yes");
count5--;
man.postDelayed(this, 1000);
}
}
};
and start it by calling
man.post(fiveSecondRunnable);

Making a program run for 5 minutes

So I wanted to try out something for a bit with the Timer and TimerTask classes.
I was able to get a line of code to execute after 30 seconds elapsed.
What I've been trying to do now is to get this line of code to execute for 5 minuets.
This is what I originally tried
public static void main(String[] args)
{
for ( int i = 0; i <= 10; i ++ )
{
Timer timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule( new TimerTask()
{
public void run()
{
System.out.println("30 Seconds Later");
}
}, 30000
);
}
}
I used the number 10 in the for loop to see if the timer.schedule would wait for another 30 seconds during the next iteration of the loop.
Any idea how I should go about this? I tried using the schedule method with a parameter passed in for period, but that only made it re-execute and it never stopped.

Java has provided a rich set of APIs in java.util.concurrent package to achieve such tasks. One of these APIs is ScheduledExecutorService. For example consider the code given below: This code will execute the Runnable task after every 30 seconds for upto 5 minutes:
import java.util.concurrent.*;
class Scheduler
{
private final ScheduledExecutorService service;
private final long period = 30;//Repeat interval
public Scheduler()
{
service = Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(1);
}
public void startScheduler(Runnable runnable)
{
final ScheduledFuture<?> handler = service.scheduleAtFixedRate(runnable,0,period,TimeUnit.SECONDS);//Will cause the task to execute after every 30 seconds
Runnable cancel = new Runnable()
{
#Override
public void run()
{
handler.cancel(true);
System.out.println("5 minutes over...Task is cancelled : "+handler.isCancelled());
}
};
service.schedule(cancel,5,TimeUnit.MINUTES);//Cancels the task after 5 minutes
}
public static void main(String st[])
{
Runnable task = new Runnable()//The task that you want to run
{
#Override
public void run()
{
System.out.println("I am a task");
}
};
Scheduler sc = new Scheduler();
sc.startScheduler(task);
}
}

The issue you're running into is that the scheduled Timer runs on a different thread - that is, the next iteration of your for loop starts running immediately after scheduling, not 30 seconds later. It looks like your code starts ten timers all at once, which means they should all print (roughly) 30 seconds later, all at once.
You were on the right track when you tried using the recurring version of schedule (with the third parameter). As you noted, this isn't quite what you want because it runs indefinitely. However, Timer does have a cancel method to prevent subsequent executions.
So, you should try something like:
final Timer timer = new Timer();
// Note that timer has been declared final, to allow use in anon. class below
timer.schedule( new TimerTask()
{
private int i = 10;
public void run()
{
System.out.println("30 Seconds Later");
if (--i < 1) timer.cancel(); // Count down ten times, then cancel
}
}, 30000, 30000 //Note the second argument for repetition
);

here's a workaround I'm ashamed of presenting:
package test;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
public class FiveMinutes {
private static int count = 0;
// main method just to add example
public static void main(String[] args) {
Timer timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
System.out.println("Count is: " + count);
if (count == 1) {
System.err.println("... quitting");
System.exit(0);
}
count++;
}
},
// starting now
new Date(),
// 5 minutes
300000l
);
}
}
Also please note that the application might not run exactly 5 minutes - see documentation for TimerTask.

Your solution is pretty close to working, you just have to multiply the delay by the counter (in your case, i):
public static void main(String[] args)
{
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) // start i at 1 for initial delay
{
Timer timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
public void run()
{
System.out.println("30 Seconds Later");
}
}, 30000 * i); // 5 second intervals
}
}

I don't know if this solution has problems with the garbage collector or not, but I throw it in here anyways. Maybe someone clears that out, and I learn something as well. Basically a timer sets a new timer if there is time left, and it should stop after 5 minutes.
Main.java:
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyTimer myTimer = new MyTimer(300000,30000);
myTimer.startTimer();
}
}
MyTimer.java:
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
public class MyTimer {
private int totalRunningTime;
private int currentTime = 0;
private int intervalTime;
private Timer timer = new Timer();
public MyTimer(int totalRunningTime, int intervalTime) {
this.totalRunningTime = totalRunningTime;
this.intervalTime = intervalTime;
}
public void startTimer() {
startTimer(intervalTime);
}
private void startTimer(int time) {
timer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
public void run() {
if (currentTime <= totalRunningTime - intervalTime) {
printTimeSinceLast(intervalTime / 1000);
currentTime += intervalTime;
startTimer(intervalTime);
} else if (currentTime < totalRunningTime) {
int newRestIntervalTime = totalRunningTime - currentTime;
printTimeSinceLast(newRestIntervalTime / 1000);
currentTime += newRestIntervalTime;
startTimer(newRestIntervalTime);
}
}
}, time);
}
private void printTimeSinceLast(int timeSinceLast) {
System.out.println(timeSinceLast + " seconds later.");
}
}

How to run a thread repeatedly after some interval

I want to run a thread (Which does some time consuming task in background and does NOT update UI) it just downloads some files form the internet and it is independent from the UI.
I want to run this thread repeatedly after some time interval.
How can i do this, I have thread something like below:
boolean mResult =false;
void onCreate()
{
DownloadThread mDownloadThread = new DownloadThread();
mDownloadThread.start();
}
class DownloadThread extends Thread implements Runnable
{
public void run()
{
// My download code
mResult = result;
}
}
Do i need to use Handler for implementing this?

Option 1:
volatile boolean flag = true;
public void run()
{
while(flag)
{
// Do your task
try{
Thread.Sleep(interval);
} catch(Exception e){
}
}
}
Option 2:
Timer timer = new Timer();
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
// Do your task
}
}, 0, interval);
Option 3:
volatile boolean flag = true;
public void someMethod(){
// Do your task
try{
Thread.Sleep(interval);
} catch(Exception e){
}
if(flag)
return;
else
someMethod();
}
Option 4:
final Handler handler = new Handler();
volatile boolean flag = true;
Class A implements Runnable{
public void run(){
// Do your Task
}
if(!flag)
handler.postDelayed(a, interval);
}
A a = new A();
handler.postDelayed(a);
There will be many more options. I never tried option 3 and 4. It just came to my mind and I wrote. If I were you I would use any of 1 or 2.

Prefered choice is
java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService
Newer and robust implementation, More here ScheduledExecutorService

I would use a Timer to achieve this. Try this:
void onCreate()
{
Timer t = new Timer();
t.scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
// Download your stuff
}
}, 0, 1000);
}
It starts immediately and the run-Method gets called every second.

Run a java function after a specific number of seconds

I have a specific function that I want to be executed after 5 seconds.
How can I do that in Java?
I found javax.swing.timer, but I can't really understand how to use it. It looks like I'm looking for something way simpler then this class provides.
Please add a simple usage example.

new java.util.Timer().schedule(
new java.util.TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
// your code here
}
},
5000
);
EDIT:
javadoc says:
After the last live reference to a Timer object goes away and all outstanding tasks have completed execution, the timer's task execution thread terminates gracefully (and becomes subject to garbage collection). However, this can take arbitrarily long to occur.

Something like this:
// When your program starts up
ScheduledExecutorService executor = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
// then, when you want to schedule a task
Runnable task = ....
executor.schedule(task, 5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
// and finally, when your program wants to exit
executor.shutdown();
There are various other factory methods on Executor which you can use instead, if you want more threads in the pool.
And remember, it's important to shutdown the executor when you've finished. The shutdown() method will cleanly shut down the thread pool when the last task has completed, and will block until this happens. shutdownNow() will terminate the thread pool immediately.

Example of using javax.swing.Timer
Timer timer = new Timer(3000, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
// Code to be executed
}
});
timer.setRepeats(false); // Only execute once
timer.start(); // Go go go!
This code will only be executed once, and the execution happens in 3000 ms (3 seconds).
As camickr mentions, you should lookup "How to Use Swing Timers" for a short introduction.

As a variation of #tangens answer: if you can't wait for the garbage collector to clean up your thread, cancel the timer at the end of your run method.
Timer t = new java.util.Timer();
t.schedule(
new java.util.TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
// your code here
// close the thread
t.cancel();
}
},
5000
);

My code is as follows:
new java.util.Timer().schedule(
new java.util.TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
// your code here, and if you have to refresh UI put this code:
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
//your code
}
});
}
},
5000
);

Your original question mentions the "Swing Timer". If in fact your question is related to SWing, then you should be using the Swing Timer and NOT the util.Timer.
Read the section from the Swing tutorial on "How to Use Timers" for more information.

you could use the Thread.Sleep() function
Thread.sleep(4000);
myfunction();
Your function will execute after 4 seconds. However this might pause the entire program...

ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor has this ability, but it's quite heavyweight.
Timer also has this ability but opens several thread even if used only once.
Here's a simple implementation with a test (signature close to Android's Handler.postDelayed()):
public class JavaUtil {
public static void postDelayed(final Runnable runnable, final long delayMillis) {
final long requested = System.currentTimeMillis();
new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// The while is just to ignore interruption.
while (true) {
try {
long leftToSleep = requested + delayMillis - System.currentTimeMillis();
if (leftToSleep > 0) {
Thread.sleep(leftToSleep);
}
break;
} catch (InterruptedException ignored) {
}
}
runnable.run();
}
}).start();
}
}
Test:
#Test
public void testRunsOnlyOnce() throws InterruptedException {
long delay = 100;
int num = 0;
final AtomicInteger numAtomic = new AtomicInteger(num);
JavaUtil.postDelayed(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
numAtomic.incrementAndGet();
}
}, delay);
Assert.assertEquals(num, numAtomic.get());
Thread.sleep(delay + 10);
Assert.assertEquals(num + 1, numAtomic.get());
Thread.sleep(delay * 2);
Assert.assertEquals(num + 1, numAtomic.get());
}

All other unswers require to run your code inside a new thread.
In some simple use cases you may just want to wait a bit and continue execution within the same thread/flow.
Code below demonstrates that technique. Keep in mind this is similar to what java.util.Timer does under the hood but more lightweight.
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
public class DelaySample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
DelayUtil d = new DelayUtil();
System.out.println("started:"+ new Date());
d.delay(500);
System.out.println("half second after:"+ new Date());
d.delay(1, TimeUnit.MINUTES);
System.out.println("1 minute after:"+ new Date());
}
}
DelayUtil Implementation
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import java.util.concurrent.locks.Condition;
import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantLock;
public class DelayUtil {
/**
* Delays the current thread execution.
* The thread loses ownership of any monitors.
* Quits immediately if the thread is interrupted
*
* #param duration the time duration in milliseconds
*/
public void delay(final long durationInMillis) {
delay(durationInMillis, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
}
/**
* #param duration the time duration in the given {#code sourceUnit}
* #param unit
*/
public void delay(final long duration, final TimeUnit unit) {
long currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
long deadline = currentTime+unit.toMillis(duration);
ReentrantLock lock = new ReentrantLock();
Condition waitCondition = lock.newCondition();
while ((deadline-currentTime)>0) {
try {
lock.lockInterruptibly();
waitCondition.await(deadline-currentTime, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
return;
} finally {
lock.unlock();
}
currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
}
}
}

public static Timer t;
public synchronized void startPollingTimer() {
if (t == null) {
TimerTask task = new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
//Do your work
}
};
t = new Timer();
t.scheduleAtFixedRate(task, 0, 1000);
}
}

I think in this case :
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
is the best. When the Question is prevent Ui stack or a progress not visible before a heavy work or network call. We can use the following methods (from my experience) :
Run a method after one Second :
public static void startMethodAfterOneSeconds(Runnable runnable) {
Timer timer = new Timer(1000, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent e) {
runnable.run();
}
});
timer.setRepeats(false); // Only execute once
timer.start();
}
Run a method after n second once, Non repeating :
public static void startMethodAfterNMilliseconds(Runnable runnable, int milliSeconds) {
Timer timer = new Timer(milliSeconds, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent e) {
runnable.run();
}
});
timer.setRepeats(false); // Only execute once
timer.start();
}
Run a method after n seconds, and repeat :
public static void repeatMethodAfterNMilliseconds(Runnable runnable, int milliSeconds) {
Timer timer = new Timer(milliSeconds, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent e) {
runnable.run();
}
});
timer.setRepeats(true); // Only execute once
timer.start();
}
And the Usage :
startMethodAfterNMilliseconds(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// myMethod(); // Your method goes here.
}
}, 1000);

Perhaps the most transparent way is to use the postDelayed function of the Handler class the following way:
new Handler().postDelayed(this::function, 1000);
or you can implement the function inside, for example:
new Handler().postDelayed(() -> System.out.println("A second later"), 1000);
Where the first argument is the function, the second argument is the delay time in milliseconds.
In the first example, the name of the called function is "function".