python timer and disable function

Question

i have a function thats gets executed when the script is run. this function is called main()

timer = 0
def main():
   function2()
   function3()
   timer()

this function calls the following functions: function2, function3, and timer.

def timer():
    global timer
    while timer < 120:
        timer += 1
        timer.sleep(1)
        print timer
        if timer == 120:
            timer = 0
            function2 = false

the problem is that the timer doesn't print in the console. and function2 doesn't get disabled after 120 seconds.

what am i doing wrong? any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

It looks like timer is 1) an int, 2) a function, 3) misspelled time module. — Kris
– Kris, Commented Feb 10, 2016 at 23:06

L3viathan · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-10 23:10:03Z

1

This won't work like that, a) because function2 is a local variable in timer, and b) because timer isn't run asynchronously. Also no variable called timer will be accessible inside the function, because it itself is named timer.

If you want to interrupt function2 after 120 seconds, you should just set a timer (time.time()) at the beginning of function2 and then in the loop that I assume resides in function2 check for whether the current time is more than 120 ahead of the time initially recorded upon entering the function. In that case, you can return from that function to stop it.

edit: This would be an example:

import time

def function2():
    timer = time.time()
    while True:
        if time.time() - timer > 120:
            return # time to exit from this function
        print("We are doing something!")
        time.sleep(1) # just for demonstration

def function3():
    pass # do something else

if __name__ == '__main__': # better than a function called "main"
    function2()
    function3()

edited Feb 10, 2016 at 23:10

answered Feb 10, 2016 at 23:04

L3viathan

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2 Comments

FutureCake Over a year ago

oke i kinda get what u mean. but i am a bit of a newb to programming in general. could you give me a quick sketch of your explanation in code? that would be great :)

FutureCake Over a year ago

thanks for the answer! ill see if it works! and if it does ill let you know!

Kris · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-10 23:17:35Z

0

I haven't looked at the logic of your code, but the first thing you need to do is disambiguate your variables, e.g.:

import time

timer_ = 0

def timer():
    global timer_
    while timer_ < 120:
        timer_ += 1
        time.sleep(1)
        print timer_
        if timer_ == 120:
            timer_ = 0
            function2 = lambda: False

def main():
    function2()
    function3()
    timer()

edited Feb 10, 2016 at 23:17

answered Feb 10, 2016 at 23:12

Kris

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1 Comment

FutureCake Over a year ago

thank you for your answer! ill take a look at it and see if it works in my code. ill let you know if it worked.

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