How to Implement Precise Delays in Java?

Java Delay Implementation

In Java, creating a delay for a specified duration is essential in various scenarios. This article explores techniques to implement delays and their implications.

The provided code snippet utilizes a while loop to iterate through an array, selecting and deselecting elements with intended delays between each action. To achieve this, the Java platform offers several options:

java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit Sleep

The TimeUnit class provides methods like SECONDS.sleep(1) to pause execution for a specific duration. However, this approach introduces drift, as each execution has slight time variations.

ScheduledExecutorService

For more flexibility and precise control, the ScheduledExecutorService is a better choice. It supports scheduleAtFixedRate and scheduleWithFixedDelay methods to execute tasks periodically at predefined intervals.

Example Implementation

To run a task every second using ScheduledExecutorService (Java 8):

ScheduledExecutorService executorService = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
executorService.scheduleAtFixedRate(App::myTask, 0, 1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);

Java 7 Implementation

ScheduledExecutorService executorService = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
executorService.scheduleAtFixedRate(new Runnable() {
    @Override
    public void run() {
        myTask();
    }
}, 0, 1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);

This method ensures that the task executes at precise intervals, avoiding drift issues.

The above is the detailed content of How to Implement Precise Delays in Java?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!