> I've posted a demo here:

> http://jsbin.com/ekone

> All the output is to the firebug console... i've included fbug lite just in
> case

> Rick

> On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 10:50 AM, Rick Waldron <waldron.r...@gmail.com>wrote:

> > I've subbed my implementation with your to do some use-case testing. I'll
> > report back anything of interest as I go along.

> > Rick

> > On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 10:49 AM, Rick Waldron <waldron.r...@gmail.com>wrote:

> >> This is fantastic feedback - thanks!

> >> On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 9:55 AM, Robert Kieffer <bro...@gmail.com> wrote:

> >>> I can't say I'm a big fan of this.  For several reasons.

> >>> First, it's just a cosmetic replacement for setInterval(myfunction
> >>> (...).bind(), ...) which simply isn't all that bad.

> >>> Second, I'm not a fan of setInterval in general.  I've seen some
> >>> rather nasty behavior with calls queuing up if the invoked function
> >>> takes longer than the delay to execute.  In particular, this seems to
> >>> be an issue if you do something like put a laptop to sleep.  (But
> >>> maybe others haven't seen this problem???)  Thus, I prefer to use a
> >>> self-invoking timeout like so:

> >>> function myFunction() {
> >>>    // do stuff ...
> >>>    // call ourselves again
> >>>    if (/*we want to continue?*/) setTimeout(myFunction, 1000)
> >>> }

> >>> This doesn't call the function at exactly one second intervals, but
> >>> that type of accuracy is rarely important.  Instead, it guarantees you
> >>> have at least one second of delay between invocations, which for
> >>> distributing cpu load or polling (the more common cases where
> >>> setInterval might be used), is more desireable.

> >>> Finally, as Joe T. points out, there should be a way of cancelling the
> >>> interval that doesn't require the user to store the returned value
> >>> (*that* is what I find most annoying, not the syntax of
> >>> "setInterval").

> >>> Thus, I'd suggest this instead:

> >>>  Object.extend(Function.prototype, {
> >>>    repeat: function(delay) {
> >>>      // Reset state
> >>>      if (this._repeater) delete this._repeater;
> >>>      this._repeatTimeout = clearTimeout(this._repeatTimeout);

> >>>      if (!delay) return; // (stop repeating if no args or delay==0)

> >>>      // Create setTimeout-based invoker
> >>>      var _method = this;
> >>>      if (!this._repeater) this._repeater = function() {
> >>>        // Let _method cancel repeat by doing "return false;"
> >>>        if (_method() !== false) setTimeout(_method._repeater, delay);
> >>>      }

> >>>      // Start repeating
> >>>      this._repeatTimeout = setTimeout(this._repeater, delay);
> >>>    },

> >>>    stopRepeating: function() {
> >>>      this.repeat();
> >>>    }
> >>>  });

> >>> For example:

> >>>  var count = 0;
> >>>  function foo() {
> >>>    console.log(count++);
> >>>    return count < 10;  // Return "false" when count >= 10 to cancel
> >>> the repeat
> >>>  }

> >>>  // Start repeating 1/sec
> >>>  foo.repeat(1000);
> >>>  //... some time later change interval to 2/sec
> >>>  foo.repeat(500);
> >>>  // ... later still stop repeating.
> >>>  foo.stopRepeating();

> >>> As you can see, this implementation of repeat() does a lot more for
> >>> you than simply alias'ing "setInterval":
> >>>  - It guarantees your function is only invoked by one interval
> >>>  - It makes changing the interval or cancelling it altogether
> >>> trivial.
> >>>  - It allows you to conditionally cancel the repeat from w/in the
> >>> function itself.

> >>> The only thing missing is the bind() behavior but, well, that's what
> >>> bind is for.   If you need to bind arguments, just bind() your
> >>> arguments first.

> >>> On Jun 23, 8:25 am, Rick Waldron <waldron.r...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> > I detest the way setInterval() looks, so I came up with this... have
> >>> been
> >>> > using it my personal JS for some time.

> >>> > Object.extend(Function.prototype, {
> >>> >   repeat: function() {
> >>> >     var __method = this, args = $A(arguments), interval = args.shift()
> >>> *
> >>> > 1000;
> >>> >     return window.setInterval(function() {
> >>> >       return __method.apply(__method, args);
> >>> >     }, interval );
> >>> >   }

> >>> > });

> >>> > // usage:
> >>> > var _pollInt = 0;
> >>> > function repetiousPollFn() {
> >>> >  console.log(_pollInt++);

> >>> > }

> >>> > repetiousPollFn.repeat(.5);

> >>> > Will, of course, repeat repetiousPollFn() every half second.

> >>> > Almost identical to .delay(), except that it returns setInterval
> >>> instead of
> >>> > setTimeout. One thing I intend to add is support for clearInterval,
> >>> however
> >>> > I figured I'd at least bring it up here first. I've never
> >>> > proposed/contributed here before (i'm a lurker of the list :D ) - any
> >>> > guidance is appreciated.

> >>> > Rick