Thread: Why isn't this working?

  1. #1
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    Why isn't this working?

    Code:
    #include <iostream>
    #include <windows.h>
    
    int main(void)
    {
    	DWORD start = GetTickCount();
    
    	for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++)
    		;
    
    	std::cout << GetTickCount() - start << std::endl;
    
    	return 0;
    }
    I always get 0 as the result. Thanks.

  2. #2
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    Your interval is too short, try 10000000.

  3. #3
    Registered User major_small's Avatar
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    another way is to slow the loop down with some output statements... consider a spinner:
    Code:
    #include<iostream>
    #include<iomanip>
    #include<ctime>
    
    int main()
    {
            char*spinner="|/-\\";
            time_t start=clock();
    
            std::cout<<spinner[0];  //show the first stage
            for(short int i=0,s=0;i<32000;i++,s++)
            {
                    s=(s>3?0:s);    //if s goes over the bounds of the array, reset it
                    std::cout<<'\b'<<spinner[s];    //delete the char and output a new one
            }
    
            float seconds=(clock()-start)/static_cast<float>(CLOCKS_PER_SEC);       //find the seconds
            std::cout<<"\nTime: "<<std::setprecision(3)<<seconds<<" seconds"<<std::endl;    //ouput the time the program has been running
            return 0;
    }
    note: make sure not to flush the stream on every iteration of the loop (via endl or flush) - that may throw the timing off.
    edit/note2: I used a different method because I'm on linux... the method you used is a non-standard one.
    Last edited by major_small; 07-16-2005 at 11:53 PM.
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  4. #4
    Registered User Tonto's Avatar
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    Timers

    Code:
    #include<iostream>
    #include <windows.h>
    ////////////
    // Uses QueryPerformanceCounter to
    // demonstrate high accuracy "timers"
    ////////////
    int main()
    {
            
    	
    	LARGE_INTEGER start, finish;
    	QueryPerformanceCounter(&start);
    
    
    	std::cout << start.LowPart << std::endl;
    
    
    	QueryPerformanceCounter(&finish);
    	std::cout << finish.LowPart;
    	return 0;
    }
    That's for very high accuracy timed events, the cout is the most time consuming event there, I wouldn't even know how to practically apply something like this. As to the original, yeah you just need to make your loop bigger, the computer is lightning fast and tickcount will only return something like, what, milliseconds? Whatever it is, you can multiply the (GetTickCount() - StatTickCount) * .001 and you get a nice found answer in seconds. GetTickCount and Win32 Timers should be all you need for general purposes on windows (or just the time.h things you know)

  5. #5
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    > for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++)
    The compiler is likely to get rid of this loop, since it does nothing apart from incrementing i, and that immediately goes out of scope when the loop ends.
    So no matter how big a number you choose, the "loop" might still take a constant (ie 0) time to execute.
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
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  6. #6
    Registered User major_small's Avatar
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    arg... foiled by 'optimization' again
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