but that eats up your CPU cycles like you wouldn't believe...
RIGHT !!!

This is an interesting case where it’s better to go with the non-standard code! Sleep(), etc., will release your CPU to do other stuff. Like major_small said, using the ISO/ANSI time functions will hog the CPU for the sole purpose of wasting time! This is BAD thing to do with a multitasking system.

If possible, it’s better check if “loading” is actually complete than, to use a fixed 5-second delay. For example, you could use Sleep() in a loop and check it every half-second or so.

BTW- I have a BASIC function: DelayDot(Delay, Count) that displays “Wait.......” Count is the number of “dots”, and Delay is the time between “dots”. I’ve used it kinda-like a library function in several BASIC programs.