Accurate time measurement

I am running a program with a loop, and this loop is dependent on the speed of the computer or whatever. i.e.

Code:

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while(1)
{
}

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and I want to know when .25 of a second (250 milliseconds) has passed, without using sleep. Using the return value of time(NULL); is hopeless as that seems to count in seconds. Any suggestions?

GetTickCount() from windows.h would be one solution.

Include windows.h and use GetTickCount(). This returns the number of milliseconds since windows started. I don't think there is a more precise timer in pure DOS than seconds, as you mentioned.

Great, I'm doing this in Windows API so that should be perfect. I have a look. Thanks.

I could be wrong... I'm at work and all my books are at home... If your code works ignore this!!!!

1- I seem to remember that (with MS windows) the tick only gets updated every 18mS. So, even though the result is in milliseconds, it does not have 1mS resolution.

2- Your in a multitasking envoronment. What happens if the OS is off doing something else at the moment your program wants to check the time? Don't you have to do "something" to make sure your program has 100% control of the CPU during this critical time?

We have an EPROM/FLASH programmer here that runs from a DOS program. When I asked the manufacturer why there was no Windows software, they said "because we can't control the timing". Their windows product has a clock built into the hardware. (In fact, we run the thing in a DOS window we don't have any problems.)

Yeah MS should really stay out of the atomic clock business!

Here's a simple busy loop by the way:

Code:

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void wait( unsigned int time_out )
{
 time_t finish = GetTickCount()+time_out;
 while(GetTickCount() < finish) continue;
}

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And a very unscientific way to control speed of execution:

Code:

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/* pass 0 into function to get you're cpu's 'constant', otherwise, pass your 'constant' in to calculate an approximate ratio of user's cpu speed to the speed you compiled at...*/
 
double cpu_factor(double constant, short num_averages = 1)
{
 time_t start;
 double end_time;
 double average = 0;
 short loops;
 int i;

    if(num_averages == 0)
      num_averages = 1;

    for(loops = 0; loops < num_averages; ++loops)
  {
    i = 0;
    start = clock();

        while(++i <= 10000000)
        continue;

    end_time = (double)( clock()- start );

    average += end_time;
  }

  average /= loops;

      if(constant == 0)
    {
      return average;
    }
      else return average/constant;
}

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Example:

Code:

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const double my_cpu = 260; /* compiled cpu_factor() */
double this_cpu;

int main()
{
  this_cpu = cpu_factor(my_cpu);
}

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