We Keep Coding

HTML/Javascript Ascending Number

I'm trying to make a simple javascript game. Basically, you get pancakes at a certain amount per second. In the code, I call this value (the rate at which you get pancakes) pps. I want to make it so that as the HTML span tag that shows the total amount of pancakes gets more pancakes, (at the rate of pps), it ascends so it looks nicer.
For example, if I get pancakes at 5 pps, right now it just goes 0, 5, 10, etc... every second. I want it to go 0,1,2,3,4,5(1 second), next second 6,7,8,9,10, etc...
Here is the code that I have so far, for the pancake counter:
pps = 100;
tp = 0;
window.setInterval(function(){
tp += parseInt(pps);
document.getElementById("test").innerHTML = tp;
}, 1000);
Anyone know how to do this?

This is a problem common to all games, and one that you need to solve correctly for your game to work outside of your own computer.
The correct solution is that you need to measure the elasped time between each iteration of your game loop, or between each frame render. This is, in practice, going to be a very small number; you can think of this number as a "scaling factor".
If your game was about moving a space ship, and you wanted it to move 5 screen units per second, your game loop would:
Find the time elapsed since the last interval, in seconds. In a game rate-limited to 60 frames-per-second, this would be around 1/60th of a second
Multiply the ship's speed (5 units per second) by 1/60; the ship would move 0.8333... units this tick
move the ship by that amount.
By the time 1 full second has passed, the ship will have moved 5 units.
The exact same principal applies to your PPS.
The important part is that, in the real world, it will not be exactly 1/60th of a second between frames. If you're not computing the "scaling factor" each iteration of your loop, your game will slowly accrue error. setInterval is particularly bad for this, and not at all suitable as a source for time in a game.
The implementation in JavaScript is simple: Each game loop, record the current time from whatever source of time is available to you; in your case, you can use get Date().getTime(), which returns the time since the UNIX epoch in milliseconds. Record this value.
In the subsequent redraw, you will again call get Date().getTime(), and then subtract the previous value to the the elapsed time. That is your scaling factor, in milliseconds. You can multiply pps by that value to determine how many pancakes to add.
It's important that you still follow this approach, even if you're using setInterval. You might think you can simply setInterval(..., 1000 / 60) to invoke your callback 60 times per second, but setInterval (and setTimeout) are not accurate - they invoke your callback at least that far in the future, but potentially much further. You still need to scale pps by the elapsed times since the last redraw.
Here's a simple implementation:
var PPS = 5;
var lastTime = new Date().getTime();
var cakes = 0;
setInterval(function () {
var currentTime = new Date().getTime()
var elapsedTime = currentTime - lastTime;
lastTime = currentTime;
cakes += (PPS * (elapsedTime / 1000)) // elapsedTime is in milliseconds, divide by 1000 to get fractional seconds
document.getElementById('pps').innerText = cakes;
}, 10);
<div id="pps"></div>
As an aside, the incorrect solution is one you find in a lot of old games: Increment things as fast as you can. On old computers this was a viable solution; the game redrew slowly enough that the game would advance smoothly. As computers got faster, the game would run faster, until it became unplayable.

A simple interval timer would do the trick. Something like this:
function incrementToNumber(tag, currentNumber, targetNumber) {
var numTicks = targetNumber - currentNumber;
var interval = setInterval(function() {
currentNumber++;
tag.innerText = currentNumber;
if(currentNumber == targetNumber) {
clearInterval(interval);
}
}, 1000 / numTicks);
}
That particular function increments over the course of one second. To change the time it takes to increment, swap out the 1000 with whatever milliseconds you want it to take.
For a version that increases forever:
function inrementForever(tag, currentPancakes, pancakesPerSecond) {
setInterval(function() {
currentPancakes++;
tag.innerText = currentPancakes;
}, 1000 / pancakesPerSecond);
}

Simple timer, and setinterval

What's the best way to create a timer in JS?
I've been using this so far:
var sec = 0;
setInterval(function (){sec +=1}, 1000);
I've noticed that, when I need miliseconds, it slows down by a lot. On browser tab changes, it completely stops.
var milisec = 0;
setInterval(function (){milisec +=1}, 1);
I'm looking for a better way to handle this, which will also continue to work when the browser window is changed.

With milliseconds, the resolution of the timer isn't large enough. In most cases the callback won't be called more often than roughly 50 to 250 times per second, even when you set the interval to 1ms. See Timer resolution in browsers (as referred to by Sani Huttunen) for an explanation.
With 1000ms it will work better. But still the timer won't be fired when the tab is inactive, and may be delayed when the cpu is busy or another script is running on your page.
One solution is to not increment a counter, but to test how much time has actually passed since the previous call of the timer. That way, the timing remains accurate, even when the intervals have been delayed or paused inbetween.
This snippet will remember the start date, and on each timer interval, update seconds and milliseconds to the difference between the current time and the start time.
var start = new Date();
var milliseconds = 0;
var seconds = 0;
setInterval(function()
{
var now = new Date();
milliseconds = now.getTime() - start.getTime();
seconds = round(milliseconds / 1000);
}, 1000);
I've set the interval to 1000 again. You might set it shorter, but it will cost more performance.
Related question: How can I make setInterval also work when a tab is inactive in Chrome?

Based on #goleztrol's solution, I've created an alternate solution specifically for my situation (it might not work for everyone).
I just ask the exact time when it's needed with this function, to know the exact miliseconds passed:
var start = new Date();
var msPassed = function() {
var now = new Date();
var ms = now.getTime() - start.getTime();
return ms
}
msPassed(); //returns time passed in ms
I needed to position objects (on creation) depending on how much time passed until their creation, so for my case this is a perfect solution. However, my initial question asks for the perfect timer, and this is not it. Anyway, here it is for future reference.

call function on the minute every minute

The code I wrote to call a function on the minute every minute, I think is flawed, as It's good for a while, but tends to lag behind by about 15 seconds for every hour since the page was loaded. To be honest I can't figure out what's causing the lagging, maybe it's the time it takes the functions to execute, small lapses all adding up and accumulating. Is there a way to auto-correct the lapses within the function as it's called. Or maybe someone knows a better method of achieving on the minute function calls. Any help or ideas much appreciated. Thanks.
var now = new Date();
var delay = 60 * 1000; // 1 min in msec
var start = delay - (now.getSeconds()) * 1000 + now.getMilliseconds();
setTimeout(function setTimer() {
onTheMinFunc();
setTimeout(setTimer, delay);
}, start);

First of all, the DOM Timers API does not guarantee accuracy. I quote:
This API does not guarantee that timers will run exactly on schedule. Delays due to CPU load, other tasks, etc, are to be expected.
Second, you have a lag on each round caused by the time onTheMinFunc() is executed (you only set the timeout when it's done).
So, let's say onTheMinFunc takes half a second to execute - you get half a second delay at each minute and it accumulates - after only 10 minutes it'll lag quite a bit. (Note, functions should usually not take more than 15ms to execute anyway to avoid noticeable lag)
Try:
setInterval(onTheMinFunc, delay);
It still won't be very accurate. You can poll on much shorter intervals and keep track of a date variable - but again - no guarantees.

What you probably want is setInterval:
setInterval(onTheMinFunc, delay);
As is, your code using setTimeout means that the time it takes to execute your onTheMinFunc is being added into your delay before the next one is started, so over time, this extra delay will add up.
Using setInterval will be more accurate, since the delay is between calls to execute the function, rather than starting the timer only after the function is finished.

Timers and javascript times aren't very accurate, and I would think the only way to make sure a function is executed every whole minute over time, is to check the seconds every second
setInterval(function() {
if ( new Date().getSeconds() === 0 ) onTheMinFunc();
},1000);
FIDDLE

Here is a slight modification to your code:
function everyMinute(fn) {
arguments[1] && fn();
var now = new Date();
var delay = 60 * 1000 - (now.getSeconds()) * 1000 + now.getMilliseconds();
setTimeout(function(){
everyMinute(fn, true);
}, start);
}
everyMinute(onTheMinFunc);
It recalculates the number of milliseconds to wait till the next minute every time so it is as accurate as possible to the top of the minute.

I think you want something closer to this:
function setNextMinute() {
// figure out how much time remains before the end of the current minute
var d = new Date().getTime()%60000;
//set a timeout to occur when that expires.
setTimeout(function () {
// recalculate a new timeout so that your timer doesn't lag over time.
doWhateverYouWantToHere();
// note that calling doWhateverYouWantToHere() will
// not offset the next minute, since it is recalculated in setNextMinute()
setNextMinute();
},60000-d);
}
setNextMinute();
caveat: I did not thoroughly test this for timing. But it appeared to work for 1 sec intervals and 1 min intervals well enough.
This has the advantage of not recalculating every second, and also not just starting a 60 second timer from whatever the current time is.

The current accepted answer may overkill
Executing if ( new Date().getSeconds() === 0 ) onTheMinFunc(); on each second (and forever) seems to not be a good idea.
I will not benchmark it against the following propositions, it's not necessary.
Clues
Use whatever logic is necessary to calculate the start moment.
On the start moment
Use setInterval for remaning executions
Execute the first call
Note setInterval is called ASAP to avoid that time lapses.
If you want that new Date().getSeconds() === 0:
var id = setInterval(function() {
if ( new Date().getSeconds() === 0 ) {
setInterval(onTheMinFunc, delay);
onTheMinFunc();
clearInterval(id);
}
},1000);
Alternatively, you could use your own logic:
var now = new Date();
var delay = 60 * 1000; // 1 min in msec
var start = delay - (now.getSeconds()) * 1000 + now.getMilliseconds();
setTimeout(function() {
setInterval(onTheMinFunc, delay);
onTheMinFunc();
}, start);
Please check both examples working on jsfiddle
The second (Example B) seems more accurate.

Javascript countdown is going slow?

I'm trying to make a countdown that is counting down in milliseconds; however, the countdown actually takes much longer than 7 seconds. Any idea as to why?
function countDown(time){
var i = 0;
var interval = setInterval(function(){
i++;
if(i > time){
clearInterval(interval);
}else{
//mining
$('#mining_time').text($('#mining_time').text()-1);
}
}, 1);
}
And I can confirm the varible time passed to the function is correctly set to 7000.

For a mostly-accurate countdown, use setTimeout().
setTimeout(fn, 7e3);
If you absolutely must have it as close to 7 seconds as possible, use a tight poll (requestAnimationFrame()) and look at difference between the time of start and current poll.
var startTime = Date.now();
requestAnimationFrame(function me() {
var deltaTime = Date.now() - startTime;
if (deltaTime >= 7e3) {
fn();
} else {
requestAnimationFrame(me);
}
});
Poly-fill as required.

the most precise way to run something after 7 seconds - is to use setTimeout with 7000 ms interval
a. there is no browser that guarantees an interval to run with 1ms resolution. In the best case it would be 7-10ms
b. there is only one thread in js, so the tasks are queued. It means that the next run will be scheduled to only after the current run is finished.
Some useful reading: http://ejohn.org/blog/how-javascript-timers-work/

No browser will take 1 as parameter for setInterval. Off the top of my head the minimum is 4 ms.
For an accurate result, get the current time, add 7000 ms, and poll (using setInterval or setTimeout) until you reach that new time.
A quick Web search returned this article that provides an example.
[Update] the value of 4 ms is mentioned on this MDN page.

ajax/JS timed countdown?

Let me explain what I'm trying to do.
I want to make a simple box which counts down numbers at intervals I specify.
For example, I'd like to set it to start at 150, and then I want to set it to drop by 15 every 30 seconds.
Is this possible with AJAX/Javascript? If so, could someone point me in the right direction?
Would really appreciate any help on this script, been Googling for hours now! :(
Cheers
Kieran

Have a look at the setTimeout or setInterval methods, they allow you to execute a function after a specified number of milliseconds (1000ms = 1second). Use that, to call a function that keeps dropping the number and writes it to a HTML element to the user can see it.

this isn't tested, but i hope it shows you the way to go.
var start = 150;
var drop = 15;
var interval = 30;
function countdown(){
document.getElementById('mybox').innerHTML = start;
start-=drop;
window.setTimeout("countdown",interval*1000);
}
countdown();

You may use jQuery to do that, see http://keith-wood.name/countdown.html -> tab Callbacks

Keep in mind that 30 seconds in my browser are not necessarily equal to 30 seconds in your browser. It depends on the workload of the browser.
The time difference is minor for a short time but can increase over a long time. The times will drift apart. If the times must not be equal (or nearly equal) between two visitors than such simple solution should be fine.
We had once a problem to introduce a live clock / countdown in one of our projects. We build a script with javascript, ajax and PHP for clock synchronisation (server time was timeserver).

You should use setInterval / clearInterval which is made for this kind of tasks:
function cooldown(element, start, stop, step, delay) {
var current = start;
element.innerHTML = current;
var timer = setInterval(function () {
current -= step;
if(current < stop) current=stop;
element.innerHTML = current;
if(current == stop) clearInterval(timer);
}, delay*1000);
}
Demonstrated here : http://jsfiddle.net/PCMHn/