Python threading.timer - repeat function every 'n' seconds

Question

I want to fire off a function every 0.5 seconds and be able to start and stop and reset the timer. I\'m not too knowledgeable of how Python threads work and am having diffic

Answer 1

From Equivalent of setInterval in python:

import threading

def setInterval(interval):
    def decorator(function):
        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            stopped = threading.Event()

            def loop(): # executed in another thread
                while not stopped.wait(interval): # until stopped
                    function(*args, **kwargs)

            t = threading.Thread(target=loop)
            t.daemon = True # stop if the program exits
            t.start()
            return stopped
        return wrapper
    return decorator

Usage:

@setInterval(.5)
def function():
    "..."

stop = function() # start timer, the first call is in .5 seconds
stop.set() # stop the loop
stop = function() # start new timer
# ...
stop.set() 

Or here's the same functionality but as a standalone function instead of a decorator:

cancel_future_calls = call_repeatedly(60, print, "Hello, World")
# ...
cancel_future_calls() 

Here's how to do it without using threads.