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How to create a timer which can be used multiple times in Java

I want to run a timer for multiple requests. If I get a request I will be running the timer for 1000ms in between if I get another request I need to update the timer. If I didn't get any request for 1000ms I need to exit the process.
How to implement such a timer? I can't perform the operation with Timer task.

You can use ScheduledExecutorService
Sample bellow:
import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
public class A {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Runnable terminate = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
System.out.println("Terminate task executed");
}
};
ScheduledExecutorService timer = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
ScheduledFuture<?> futureTask = timer.schedule(terminate, 1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
futureTask.cancel(true);
System.out.println("Timer Canceled");
futureTask = timer.schedule(terminate, 1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
futureTask.cancel(true);
System.out.println("Timer Canceled");
}
}
If you run it, you will see terminate task is never run because it is canceled before the 1 SEC passes

My java class Updater don't update

I would like to know where is the problem in this class, I'm making a class that every n seconds make something, but it appear to do it only 1 time.
this is the class
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
public class Updater {
private Timer timer;
public Updater(int seconds){
timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule(new UpdaterTask(), seconds*1000);
}
class UpdaterTask extends TimerTask {
public void run() {
System.out.println(Math.random());
timer.cancel();
}
}
}
and this is the test
public class TestUpdater {
public static void main(String[] args){
new Updater(1);
}
}
i think that this test have to give me a random number every second but after the first second the process terminate.
Sorry for the bad english and thanks for any suggestion

schedule(task, delay) only execute the task once. schedule(task, delay, period) execute the task repeatedly with fixed delay.
timer.schedule(new UpdaterTask(), 0, seconds * 1000)
Remove cancel()
// timer.cancel();

You need to comment out, the timer.cancel() call. This is making the timer itself stop after the first execution of its timer task.
Then for repeated execution, you should call scheduleAtFixedRate method, with delay == 0, to start the task immediately, and period == x seconds, to run it every x seconds.
class Updater {
private Timer timer;
public Updater(int seconds){
timer = new Timer();
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(new UpdaterTask(), 0, seconds*1000); // use scheduleAtFixedRate method
}
class UpdaterTask extends TimerTask {
public void run() {
System.out.println(Math.random());
//timer.cancel(); --> comment this line
}
}
}

When your main() thread terminates the application also terminates.
Just add Thread.sleep(10000) at the end of your code. It will then work for 10 seconds.
AND
Consult this answer for how to use the cancel method. I think you did not want to use it there.
AND
Change the scheduling type, use
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(new UpdaterTask(), 0, seconds*1000);

Timer in Java Thread

I have a thread which is in charge of doing some processes. I want make it so that these processing would be done every 3 seconds. I've used the code below but when the thread starts, nothing happens.
I assumed that when I define a task for my timer it automatically execute the ScheduledTask within time interval but it doesn't do anything at all.
What am I missing?
class temperatureUp extends Thread
{
#Override
public void run()
{
TimerTask increaseTemperature = new TimerTask(){
public void run() {
try {
//do the processing
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {}
}
};
Timer increaserTimer = new Timer("MyTimer");
increaserTimer.schedule(increaseTemperature, 3000);
}
};

A few errors in your code snippet:
You extend the Thread class, which is not really good practice
You have a Timer within a Thread? That doesnt make sense as the a Timer runs on its own Thread.
You should rather (when/where necessary), implement a Runnable see here for a short example, however I cannot see the need for both a Thread and Timer in the snippet you gave.
Please see the below example of a working Timer which will simply increment the counter by one each time it is called (every 3seconds):
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
public class Test {
static int counter = 0;
public static void main(String[] args) {
TimerTask timerTask = new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
System.out.println("TimerTask executing counter is: " + counter);
counter++;//increments the counter
}
};
Timer timer = new Timer("MyTimer");//create a new Timer
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(timerTask, 30, 3000);//this line starts the timer at the same time its executed
}
}
Addendum:
I did a short example of incorporating a Thread into the mix. So now the TimerTask will merely increment counter by 1 every 3 seconds, and the Thread will display counters value sleeping for 1 seconds every time it checks counter (it will terminate itself and the timer after counter==3):
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
public class Test {
static int counter = 0;
static Timer timer;
public static void main(String[] args) {
//create timer task to increment counter
TimerTask timerTask = new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
// System.out.println("TimerTask executing counter is: " + counter);
counter++;
}
};
//create thread to print counter value
Thread t = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
while (true) {
try {
System.out.println("Thread reading counter is: " + counter);
if (counter == 3) {
System.out.println("Counter has reached 3 now will terminate");
timer.cancel();//end the timer
break;//end this loop
}
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
});
timer = new Timer("MyTimer");//create a new timer
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(timerTask, 30, 3000);//start timer in 30ms to increment counter
t.start();//start thread to display counter
}
}

import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
public class ThreadTimer extends TimerTask{
static int counter = 0;
public static void main(String [] args) {
Timer timer = new Timer("MyTimer");
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(new ThreadTimer(), 30, 3000);
}
#Override
public void run() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
System.out.println("TimerTask executing counter is: " + counter);
counter++;
}
}

In order to do something every three seconds you should use scheduleAtFixedRate (see javadoc).
However your code really does nothing because you create a thread in which you start a timer just before the thread's run stops (there is nothing more to do). When the timer (which is a single shoot one) triggers, there is no thread to interrupt (run finished before).
class temperatureUp extends Thread
{
#Override
public void run()
{
TimerTask increaseTemperature = new TimerTask(){
public void run() {
try {
//do the processing
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {}
}
};
Timer increaserTimer = new Timer("MyTimer");
//start a 3 seconds timer 10ms later
increaserTimer.scheduleAtFixedRate(increaseTemperature, 3000, 10);
while(true) {
//give it some time to see timer triggering
doSomethingMeaningful();
}
}

I think the method you've used has the signature schedule(TimerTask task, long delay) . So in effect you're just delaying the start time of the ONLY execution.
To schedule it to run every 3 seconds you need to go with this method schedule(TimerTask task, long delay, long period) where the third param is used to give the period interval.
You can refer the Timer class definition here to be of further help
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.4.2/docs/api/java/util/Timer.html

Timer & TimerTask are legacy
The Timer & TimerTask classes are now legacy. To run code at a certain time, or to run code repeatedly, use a scheduled executor service.
To quote the Timer class Javadoc:
Java 5.0 introduced the java.util.concurrent package and one of the concurrency utilities therein is the ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor which is a thread pool for repeatedly executing tasks at a given rate or delay. It is effectively a more versatile replacement for the Timer/TimerTask combination, as it allows multiple service threads, accepts various time units, and doesn't require subclassing TimerTask (just implement Runnable). Configuring ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor with one thread makes it equivalent to Timer.
Executor framework
In modern Java, we use the Executors framework rather than directly addressing the Thread class.
Define your task as a Runnable or Callable. You can use compact lambda syntax seen below. Or you can use conventional syntax to define a class implementing the Runnable (or Callable) interface.
Ask a ScheduledExecutorService object to execute your Runnable object’s code every so often.
ScheduledExecutorService scheduledExecutorService = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor() ;
Runnable task = () -> {
System.out.println( "Doing my thing at: " + Instant.now() );
};
long initialDelay = 0L ;
long period = 3L ;
TimeUnit timeUnit = TimeUnit.SECONDS ;
scheduledExecutorService.submit( task , initialDelay, period , timeUnit ) ;
…
scheduledExecutorService.shutdown() ; // Stops any more tasks from being scheduled.
scheduledExecutorService.awaitTermination() ; // Waits until all currently running tasks are done/failed/canceled.
Notice that we are not directly managing any Thread objects in the code above. Managing threads is the job of the executor service.
Tips:
Always shutdown your executor service gracefully when no longer needed, or when your app exits. Otherwise the backing thread pool may continue indefinitely like a zombie 🧟‍♂️.
Consider wrapping your task's working code in a try-catch. Any uncaught exception or error reaching the scheduled executor service results in silently halting the further scheduling of any more runs.

Run a class instance as a thread by itself

I have this piece of code:
Timeout s = new Timeout();
Timer timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule(s, 1000L); // fires after 1 second
How can I launch the following piece of code as a thread by itself? Would I need to pass the timer and Timeout to a Runnable and then start it? What happens if the thread's Run() ends before the timer is fired?
I am thinking of doing this instead:
ScheduledExecutorService ses = Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(1);
Timeout s = new Timeout(); // Timeout is a runnable
ses.schedule(s, 10, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
but how do I exit the thread after the timeout? I run out of thread after a while
Thanks

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking, but I'll give it a shot.
How can I launch the following piece of code as a thread by itself?
In short...
Timeout.java
public class Timeout extends TimerTask {
boolean isDone = false;
#Override
public void run() {
// TODO something
synchronized(this) {
isDone=true;
this.notifyAll();
}
}
public synchronized void join() throws InterruptedException {
while(!this.isDone)
this.wait();
}
}
TimeoutRunner.java
public class TimerRunner implements Runnable {
#Override
public void run() {
Timeout timeout = new Timeout();
Timer timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule(timeout, 1000L);
try {
timeout.join();
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} finally {
timer.cancel();
}
}
}
Run the TimeoutRunner using:
new Thread(new TimeoutRunner()).start();
The join method will block the thread until the timeout task has completed execution. At that time you can close the Timer. This is, however, a lot of thread creation, and IMO bad programming.
When you create a Timer instance, a thread is created to execute the Timeout#run() method. The timer has it's own run method that blocks until your task is ready for execution. After the given timeout period elapses, the timer unblocks and executes your timeout.
Your TimeoutRunner thread will block until the timeout operation completes. Only then can this thread die.
The Timer class is very limited. You need to create a new instance for every task. In my option, the ScheduledExecutorService is a better option. Keep the ScheduledExecutorService open for as long as you plan on executing tasks. If you need something like a scheduled cached thread pool, feel free to use this class from one of my open-source projects (Scheduler). This works great with a cached thread pool.

How to set a timer but don't run repeatly

In my case I created a object and planned to release it after 20 minutes(accuracy is not necessary). I know by using java.util.Timer I can create a timer.But I just want it run once. After that,the timer should stop and been released too.
Is there any way just like setTimeOut() in javascript?
Thanks.

int numberOfMillisecondsInTheFuture = 10000; // 10 sec
Date timeToRun = new Date(System.currentTimeMillis()+numberOfMillisecondsInTheFuture);
Timer timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
public void run() {
// Task here ...
}
}, timeToRun);
Modify above so that you can schedule a job 20 minutes in future.

Use Timer::schedule(TimerTask, long) or look into the ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor or ScheduledExecutorService classes.

You can start a new thread and call sleep with the number of milliseconds to wait, then execute your instructions (on either thread). See http://download.oracle.com/javase/1.4.2/docs/api/java/lang/Thread.html for reference, and look at the various online thread tutorials if you need more help.

java.util.Timer has a cancel method in it:
http://download.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/util/Timer.html#cancel%28%29
However, as far as I know, in timer if you do not specify a period, scheduled task will run only once.

package com.stevej;
import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
public class StackOverflowMain {
public static void main(String[] args) {
ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor executor = new ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor(1);
Runnable myAction = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
System.out.println("Hello (2 minutes into the future)");
}
};
executor.schedule(myAction, 2, TimeUnit.MINUTES);
}
}