Beginner Stop Watch!

[nalexander50]

Hello,

I am new to LiveCode but have basic experience writing in languages like C, Java, and VB. Currently, I am trying to implement a timer into an application that I am writing but am having trouble. I want the application to Count up every second just like a stop watch. I also want it to displace hours, minutes, and seconds into respective slots fitting the format 00:00:00. I have been very close at implementing the timer, but am having serious troubles with the hours place. Can anyone help?

[Simon]

Hello and welcome to the forum!
This should get you started:

Code: Select all

local tSec,tMin,tHour
on mouseUp
startClock
end mouseUp

on startClock
   set the numberFormat to "00" --this sets it so that it always shows a leading 0 
   add 1 to tSec
   if tSec = 60 then 
      add 1 to tMin
      put 00 into tSec
   end if
   if tMin = 60 then
      add 1 to tHour
      put 00 into tMin
   end if
   if tMin = 0 then put 00 into tMin
   if tHour = 0 then put 00 into tHour
   put tHour & ":" & tMin & ":" & tSec into fld 1
   send startClock to me in 1 sec --go back to the top and do it again in 1 sec
end startClock

I don't claim that this is the best way to do it. I'm sure that somebody here could write it with much less code. But I think this is easy to read.

Good luck and enjoy LiveCode!

Simon

[nalexander50]

Thanks so much. This is exactly what I needed. And I do not mind the length of code. I had this exact script set up, the only problem I was encountering was when I reached 1 hour, the seconds either set to 00 and stopped counting or was set to -36,000. I had a few bizarre bugs, but this is exactly what I needed. Thanks!

[Simon]

Glad I could help

Simon

[rumplestiltskin]

Just dropped in to appreciate the code provided in this thread and was wondering something:

I figured out how to start and stop the timer using a flag I set when a mouseUp occurs in the field. How, though, would I reset the timer to zero? I am guessing I'd have to put the handler to do this in the same script in order to reset tSec, tMin and tHour to "00".

...time passes...

Yep; that did it. I added a button named "Reset" which sent a resetTimer message to the field and, in the resetTimer handler in the field, I set the three time vars to "00" and put empty into the field.

If I tried to reset tSec, etc. to "00" outside of the field script, it did nothing (as the variables declared as "local" can only be changed from any handler within that script).

Thanks to the OP for asking the question and to Simon for his answer.

[jacque]

EDIT: I just realized we're writing a stopwatch, not a clock, so the following isn't what you wanted. I'll leave it here anyway. This one is just a clock.

The convert command is handy for dates and times. Here's another way to do it:

Code: Select all

local sFlag

on clock
  get the seconds
  add 1 to it
  convert it to long time
  put it into fld 1
  if sFlag is true then send "clock" to me in 1 second
end clock

Add a handler that sets sFlag to true or false to turn the clock on and off.

[Dixie]

Another way to do it... the script is in the card script..

be well

Dixie

[Mag]

EDIT: I just realized we're writing a stopwatch, not a clock, so the following isn't what you wanted. I'll leave it here anyway. This one is just a clock.

The convert command is handy for dates and times. Here's another way to do it:

Code: Select all

local sFlag

on clock
  get the seconds
  add 1 to it
  convert it to long time
  put it into fld 1
  if sFlag is true then send "clock" to me in 1 second
end clock

Add a handler that sets sFlag to true or false to turn the clock on and off.

Hi Jacque,

Why you add 1 to it?

[jacque]

The handler shouldn't add 1, I probably forgot to remove that line when I was copying from something else. Good catch.

[Mag]

Thanks!

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[Mag]

One last consideration: if the clock shows also the seconds, they do not coincide with those of the system, but their change is always a little later (it depends on when I start the script). I guess you can't make them change together with those of the system clock...

Code: Select all

on updateClock
      put the long system time into field "ClockField"
   
      send "updateClock" to me in 1 seconds
end updateClock

[bn]

Hi Mag,

if you want to sync your seconds to the seconds of the system you use a little different way to send in time
you calculate the time remaining to the next full second of the system and adjusting your send in time value accordingly.

Like this

Code: Select all

local sFlag = false

on mouseUp
   put not sFlag into sFlag
   send "doClock" to me in 0 milliseconds
end mouseUp

on doClock
   if not sFlag then exit doClock
   get the seconds
   convert it to long time
   put it into field 1
   -- get remaining milliseconds
   put 1000 - char 3 to - 1 of the milliseconds into tHowMany -- char 3 to - 1 of the milliseconds are the hundreds
   send "doClock" to me in tHowMany milliseconds
end doClock

KInd regards
Bernd

[jacque]

One of the cleverest things I ever saw was a method from Geoff Canyon about how to calculate the exact moment the system clock changes the seconds:

Code: Select all

send "updateTimer" to me in (1 - (the long seconds mod 1)) seconds 

Pretty cool.

[Mag]

Thanks guys, two ways to do one thing well!