How to add a delay between function calls in java?

Question

How do I add a delay between 2 functions? I want one function to execute and after some delay another function to execute.

For example in the below code when AI vs CPU is chosen I want the outputs to be delayed....TimeUnit.SECONDS() delays the whole process not each function call ..

So how can I add delay after each function call of CPU and AI in the following code:

 public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
            option = 3;
            ai.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
            int q = (int) (Math.random() * 2);
            //System.out.println(" I have been called " + q);
            if (q == 1) {
                    System.out.println(" I am inside " + q);
                    text1.setText(" AI  starts ");
                    AI(1);
                    CPU(0);
                    AI(1);
                    CPU(0);
                    AI(1);
                    CPU(0);
                    AI(1);
                    CPU(0);
                } else {
                    //      System.out.println(" I have been inside " + q);
                    text1.setText(" CPU  starts ");
                    CPU(1);
                    AI(0);
                    CPU(1);
                    AI(0);
                    CPU(1);
                    AI(0);
                    CPU(1);
                    AI(0);
                }

        }

    });

EDIT: this is actually a tic tac toe game in which the Computer plays against the AI ....so as the output would be quick ...I want each step to be called and a delay to be there so that each move is visible.

try [`java.lang.Thread.sleep(long millis)`](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/Thread.html#sleep(long)). — DimaSan, Oct 13 '16 at 19:53
Possible duplicate of [How to delay in Java?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24104313/how-to-delay-in-java) — MordechayS, Oct 13 '16 at 19:55
i did try that it delayed the whole process instead of delay after each function call — lirus, Oct 13 '16 at 19:56
@lirus What do you mean `Thread.sleep` didn't work? If this doesn't work for you then your question is unclear. — Jaroslaw Pawlak, Oct 13 '16 at 19:56
i tried addint Thread,sleep(1000) it did not delay ......it just delayed the whole process and gave the output all together...... — lirus, Oct 13 '16 at 19:57
`Thread.sleep` doesn't delay whole process, just a single (current) thread. It could help if you described what is your desired behaviour. — Jaroslaw Pawlak, Oct 13 '16 at 20:03
1. I would recommend that you search what CPU and AI mean. 2. The answer to your question is still `Thread.sleep` and I cannot see what else you might want. — Jaroslaw Pawlak, Oct 13 '16 at 20:08
If this is a single threaded application, sleeping a thread will cause your process to pause. If you want your UI to still be responsive, you'll need to use multi-threading. — Christopher Schneider, Oct 13 '16 at 20:16
the CPU and AI function just fills one of the boxes in the grid — lirus, Oct 13 '16 at 20:19

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 14 '16 at 13:18

As it mentioned before Thread.sleep is the way to go. You can create a simple method like this:

public void sleep(long millis){
    try {
        Thread.sleep(millis);
    } catch(InterruptedException ex) {
        Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
    }
}

An call it whenever you want some delay. If you want delay between each step you have to call it between each step:

CPU(1);
sleep(300);
AI(0);
sleep(300);
/*And so on*/

Important: As Christopher Schneider mentioned if this is a single threaded application your gui will not response while your thread is sleeping.

how can i make the GUI go in sync with it ? – lirus Oct 14 '16 at 21:20 — lirus, Oct 14 '16 at 21:20

How to add a delay between function calls in java?

1 Answers1