How can I pass a parameter to a setTimeout() callback?

Question

I have some JavaScript code that looks like:

function statechangedPostQuestion()
{
  //alert("statechangedPostQuestion");
  if (xmlhttp.readyState==         


        

Answer 1

Some answers are correct but convoluted.

I am answering this again, 4 years later, because I still run into overly complex code to solve exactly this question. There IS an elegant solution.

First of all, do not pass in a string as the first parameter when calling setTimeout because it effectively invokes a call to the slow "eval" function.

So how do we pass in a parameter to a timeout function? By using closure:

settopic=function(topicid){
  setTimeout(function(){
    //thanks to closure, topicid is visible here
    postinsql(topicid);
  },4000);
}

...
if (xhr.readyState==4){
  settopic(xhr.responseText);
}

Some have suggested using anonymous function when calling the timeout function:

if (xhr.readyState==4){
  setTimeout(function(){
    settopic(xhr.responseText);
  },4000);
}

The syntax works out. But by the time settopic is called, i.e. 4 seconds later, the XHR object may not be the same. Therefore it's important to pre-bind the variables.

Answer 2

How i resolved this stage ?

just like that :

setTimeout((function(_deepFunction ,_deepData){
    var _deepResultFunction = function _deepResultFunction(){
          _deepFunction(_deepData);
    };
    return _deepResultFunction;
})(fromOuterFunction, fromOuterData ) , 1000  );

setTimeout wait a reference to a function, so i created it in a closure, which interprete my data and return a function with a good instance of my data !

Maybe you can improve this part :

_deepFunction(_deepData);

// change to something like :
_deepFunction.apply(contextFromParams , args); 

I tested it on chrome, firefox and IE and it execute well, i don't know about performance but i needed it to be working.

a sample test :

myDelay_function = function(fn , params , ctxt , _time){
setTimeout((function(_deepFunction ,_deepData, _deepCtxt){
            var _deepResultFunction = function _deepResultFunction(){
                //_deepFunction(_deepData);
                _deepFunction.call(  _deepCtxt , _deepData);
            };
        return _deepResultFunction;
    })(fn , params , ctxt)
, _time) 
};

// the function to be used :
myFunc = function(param){ console.log(param + this.name) }
// note that we call this.name

// a context object :
myObjet = {
    id : "myId" , 
    name : "myName"
}

// setting a parmeter
myParamter = "I am the outer parameter : ";

//and now let's make the call :
myDelay_function(myFunc , myParamter  , myObjet , 1000)

// this will produce this result on the console line :
// I am the outer parameter : myName

Maybe you can change the signature to make it more complient :

myNass_setTimeOut = function (fn , _time , params , ctxt ){
return setTimeout((function(_deepFunction ,_deepData, _deepCtxt){
            var _deepResultFunction = function _deepResultFunction(){
                //_deepFunction(_deepData);
                _deepFunction.apply(  _deepCtxt , _deepData);
            };
        return _deepResultFunction;
    })(fn , params , ctxt)
, _time) 
};

// and try again :
for(var i=0; i<10; i++){
   myNass_setTimeOut(console.log ,1000 , [i] , console)
}

And finaly to answer the original question :

 myNass_setTimeOut( postinsql, 4000, topicId );

Hope it can help !

ps : sorry but english it's not my mother tongue !

Answer 3

I think you want:

setTimeout("postinsql(" + topicId + ")", 4000);

Answer 4

As there is a problem with the third optonal parameter in IE and using closures prevents us from changing the variables (in a loop for example) and still achieving the desired result, I suggest the following solution.

We can try using recursion like this:

var i = 0;
var hellos = ["Hello World1!", "Hello World2!", "Hello World3!", "Hello World4!", "Hello World5!"];

if(hellos.length > 0) timeout();

function timeout() {                
    document.write('<p>' + hellos[i] + '<p>');
    i++;
    if (i < hellos.length)
        setTimeout(timeout, 500);
}

We need to make sure that nothing else changes these variables and that we write a proper recursion condition to avoid infinite recursion.

Answer 5

In modern browsers, the "setTimeout" receives a third parameter that is sent as parameter to the internal function at the end of the timer.

Example:

var hello = "Hello World";
setTimeout(alert, 1000, hello);

More details:

• https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WindowTimers.setTimeout
• http://arguments.callee.info/2008/11/10/passing-arguments-to-settimeout-and-setinterval/

Answer 6

Hobblin already commented this on the question, but it should be an answer really!

Using Function.prototype.bind() is the cleanest and most flexible way to do this (with the added bonus of being able to set the this context):

setTimeout(postinsql.bind(null, topicId), 4000);

For more information see these MDN links:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/DOM/window.setTimeout#highlighter_547041 https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/bind#With_setTimeout