Is there a more accurate way to create a Javascript timer than setTimeout?

Question

Something that has always bugged me is how unpredictable the setTimeout() method in Javascript is.

In my experience, the timer is horribly inaccurate in

Answer 1

You need to "creep up" on the target time. Some trial and error will be necessary but in essence.

Set a timeout to complete arround 100ms before the required time

make the timeout handler function like this:

calculate_remaining_time
if remaining_time > 20ms // maybe as much as 50
  re-queue the handler for 10ms time
else
{
  while( remaining_time > 0 ) calculate_remaining_time;
  do_your_thing();
  re-queue the handler for 100ms before the next required time
}

But your while loop can still get interrupted by other processes so it's still not perfect.