How to build a timer that counts the seconds elapsed?

I'm doing this game for a school, project and one of the extras to have a better grade is a timer. I need to count the time (in seconds) elapsed while i'm running the game until I win it. Meaning, I start the game, the timer starts counting the seconds, I win the game, the timer stops and I need to return the number of seconds elapsed.

One way to do this would be: get the system time at start and at the end, then calculate the seconds. However, I would like to have the timer on screen, chaging within each second. Is it possible without much code? How?

I'll hear any other suggestion too...

SetTimer - if on Windows

Instead of checking the timer at the start and end, in the game loop, just correct the timer on screen every time one second (or about one second) elapsed.

It's relatively simple to do with any timing function. This example uses the standard C function time(), but clock() (also standard), SDL_GetTicks(), or any other timing function would work.

Code:

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#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>

void loop(void) {
    time_t start, end;
    double elapsed;

    time(&start);  /* start the timer */

    do {
        time(&end);

        elapsed = difftime(end, start);
        /* For most data types one could simply use
            elapsed = end - start;
            but for time_t one needs to use difftime(). */

        printf("Time elapsed: &#37;f\n", elapsed);
    } while(elapsed < 10);  /* run for ten seconds */
}

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With some thought, you can even implement pausing the game. Take the time the game was paused for and add that to the start time.

I forgot to tell I'm on linux...

But I don't see how can I update the timer every second if my game has user input... I'm using ncurses by the way. And I'm using the getch() function to read input. When the code reaches a line with getch(), it won't continue without pressing any key, so, how can I update a timer every second with that restriction?

As you're beginning to see, it's a PITA when the timer is put with a program that does a lot of other things.

But Wait! There's more! (says the Ronco wizard, Ron Popeil), because the timer won't look right UNLESS you check it about 3 or 4 times per second. Basically because the OS is busy doing other things - but it looks jerky and you can miss seconds if you don't check it at least 3 times per second.

Every function and every loop in every function, that takes more than 1/3rd of a second, will need to have a little bit of timer code in them, to keep the clock right. Time is relentless and a 1/3rd of a second is not very long!

But it's doable.

IMO the start time & end time variables should be a global variables, because nearly every function will need access to them.

Quote:

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IMO the start time & end time variables should be a global variables, because nearly every function will need access to them.

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Not really. You'd probably only need to access them perhaps three or four times: starting the timer, querying the timer, displaying the timer, and possibly pausing the timer.

Quote:

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But I don't see how can I update the timer every second if my game has user input... I'm using ncurses by the way. And I'm using the getch() function to read input. When the code reaches a line with getch(), it won't continue without pressing any key, so, how can I update a timer every second with that restriction?

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kbhit(), or some equivalent. kbhit() returns true if there is a key in the input buffer, just waiting to be read. You'd use something like this:

Code:

---

void loop(void) {
    while(!quit) {
        paint_screen();
        if(kbhit()) process_key(getch());
    }
}

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The easiest way (assuming you are on Win32) -

Code:

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char szString[64];
DWORD dwStartTime;
DWORD dwElapseTime;
RECT Rect; // rectangle of the client area
HDC hdc; // DC of the client area

dwStartTime = GetTickCount();
while(TRUE){

    /* game code goes here */

    dwElapsedTime = (GetTickCount() - dwStartTime) / 1000;
    sprintf((char*)&szString[0] , "Time : %d\0" , dwElapsedTime);
    DrawText(hdc , (char*)&szString[0] , -1 , &Rect , DT_TOP | DT_CENTER );

    }

---

Code:

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(char*)&szString[0]

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Why cast something if it's already of the type you are casting it to?

Come to think of it, why not just use this?

Code:

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szString

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I don't see why one would want to use non-standard timing functions if you can get away with the standard ones, especially if you only want second precision.

[edit] Also, the "\0" is unnessesary, since the compiler automatically NULL-terminates string literals.

And see below. [/edit]

Hey guys: OP writes: "forgot to tell I'm on linux..."

Window's code is irrelevant, in this case.

I'm still confused and I don't understand how would I implement this on my code... For instance, I don't use the getch() directly, I have a custom function to read input with getch() to fit my needs. On another piece of code, I have while loop that will read the directional keys (to move the cursor in a matrix).

The function I'm using is this:

Code:

---

void getInput(int l, int c, string str, int limit, bool pwd) {
        int i = 0;
        int ch = 0;
       
        // Activates the cursor and changes the input color
       
        curs_set(1);
        attron(COLOR_PAIR(6));
       
        // Loops until the user presses the Return key
       
        while(ch != '\n') {
                ch = mvgetch(l, c);

                if(ch != '\n' && ch != '\t') {
                        // Did the user pressed the backspace key?
                       
                        if(i > 0 && (ch == KEY_BACKSPACE || ch == 127)) {
                                move(l, --c);
                               
                                attroff(COLOR_PAIR(6));
                                mvprintw(l, c, " ");
                                attron(COLOR_PAIR(6));
                               
                                refresh();
                                       
                                i--;
                        } else {
                                // Is the char invalid or the user went over the limit?
                               
                                if(i < limit && (isalnum(ch) || isspace(ch))) {
                                        str[i++] = (char)ch;
                                       
                                        // Hide input? (password)
                                       
                                        if(pwd) mvprintw(l, c++, "*");
                                        else mvprintw(l, c++, "%c", ch);
                                       
                                        refresh();
                                }
                        }
                }
        }
       
        // Deactivates the cursor and removes the input color
       
        curs_set(0);
        attroff(COLOR_PAIR(6));
       
        // Terminates the string and/or removes the line termination
       
        if(str[i-1] == '\n') {
                str[i-1] = '\0';
        } else {
                str[i] = '\0';
        }
}

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And I use it like this:

Code:

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char buffer[10];

getInput(0, 0, buffer, sizeof(buffer)-1, FALSE);

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Could you provide me with the simplest and full example of how you would put a timer on screen updating everysecond and using getInput() to read user input? For instance, inside this loop:

Code:

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do {
        getInput(0, 0, buffer, sizeof(buffer)-1, FALSE);
} while(buffer[0] != 'q');

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Perhaps using time.h and the built-in clock() function? You need to have a variable as a starting point then another for the current time. The time elapsed is equal to the difference between these. This would work on practically any OS as far as I know.

You need to put your line of code to display the current timer seconds, inside the body of any loop which might require more than about 1/3rd of a second.

So in your getinput() function:

Code:

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        // Loops until the user presses the Return key
       
        while(ch != '\n') {
                show_time();  /* where show_time is your function to display the timer. */
                ch = mvgetch(l, c);

                if(ch != '\n' && ch != '\t') {
                        // Did the user pressed the backspace key?
                       
                        if(i > 0 && (ch == KEY_BACKSPACE || ch == 127)) {
                                move(l, --c);
                               
                                attroff(COLOR_PAIR(6));
                                mvprintw(l, c, " ");
                                attron(COLOR_PAIR(6));
                               
                                refresh();
                                       
                                i--;
                        } else {
                                // Is the char invalid or the user went over the limit?
                               
                                if(i < limit && (isalnum(ch) || isspace(ch))) {
                                        str[i++] = (char)ch;
                                       
                                        // Hide input? (password)
                                       
                                        if(pwd) mvprintw(l, c++, "*");
                                        else mvprintw(l, c++, "&#37;c", ch);
                                       
                                        refresh();
                                }
                        }
                }
              /* If any part of the program in the if or the else code above,
                  takes longer than 1/3rd of a second, then you'll need to add your call to show_time() or just the code from it,               
                  inside that block of code. That may need to INCLUDE an added call to it, put right inside the mvgetch() function!
         
                  Practical experimentation is essential. Now you know what a PITA second by second timers are, IMO. Using the OS to
                  work them for you, or working them in a separate thread, may help considerably lessen this pain.
                */                 

        }

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But I don't get how that would work... The show_timer() function is called and the timer will be shown, let's say 5seconds. In the next line the function mvgetch() will be called, which is waiting for user input, if I only press a key after 5 seconds, the timer will go from 5seconds to 10seconds, and what I want is the timer to be updated every second while i'm waiting for user input, that's my problem.

If I'm waiting for user input, the code is "halted" in the getch() call, how can I update the timer if the code does not move from that line until I press a key? That's what I don't get and I don't see how all of your help would solve that... Maybe I'm too dumb, but I can't see it.

Looking at the second message posted by dwks, in mvgetch(), you would need something like:

Code:

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if (kbhit())
{
  ch = getch();
}

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I still don't get it how would I use that on the code I already have... I think I'll just leave this function out of the final game and just check in the end how much time elapsed from the start of the game. Time is running out and I only have 2 days to finish it and a few critical bugs are still left in the code...

Thanks for all your time though.

You could pretty much just replace

Code:

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ch = mvgetch(l, c);

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with something like

Code:

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move(l, c);
if(kbhit()) {
    ch = getch();
    /* process ch -- the if(ch...) code */
}

/* update the screen, including the timer */

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BTW, I wouldn't call a variable l (lowercase L). It looks too much like 1 (numerical one).

Also, the variable i seems to play the same role as the variable c, unless they start at different numbers.

As well, this

Code:

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mvprintw(l, c, " ");

---

is the same as

Code:

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mvaddch(l, c, ' ');

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not that it matters too much. But it might be easier to read for this code, for instance:

Code:

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mvprintw(l, c++, "%c", ch);

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->

Code:

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mvaddch(l, c++, ch);

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See the man page: http://developer.apple.com/documenta...vaddch.3x.html

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But work on the critical bugs first. :)

Thanks for all the suggestions but I won't do the timer anymore, I'm getting really confused and I only have a few hours left before the system blocks me from uploading my project. I have it all finished now, everything seems to be working and I'm just missing the final report, so, lots of writing to do and can't bother any more with the code... I did what I initially thought of doing, the game starts I check the time, the game ends I recheck the time and calculate the difference in seconds, that's it. Simple enough. No time for more.

Thank you all though.