Clear specific timeout

Question

How can I clear this timeout:

var timeout = setTimeout(function() {
    window.setTimeout(arguments.callee, 1000);
}, 1000)

clearTimeout(timeout) don't working..

instead of using `window.setTimeout` have you tried changing it to `timeout = setTimeout( .. )` in the function? — Patrick Barr, Jun 08 '17 at 13:50
You may want to read [this answer to the question of why `arguments.callee` was removed from recent versions of ECMAScript](https://stackoverflow.com/a/235760/215552). — Heretic Monkey, Jun 08 '17 at 13:52
What do you want to achieve? You have timeout inside timeout :) I think you can make it simpler. Try add clearTimeout(timeout); console.log('been in this line!'); You will know if your code has been entered or not. — Arkadiusz Raszeja, Jun 08 '17 at 13:56
You're only clearing the first timeout, not the inner timeout — Heretic Monkey, Jun 08 '17 at 13:57

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 08 '17 at 13:58

You're setting timeout to the result of the first call to setTimeout, but not any following calls. You probably want

var timeout;

timeout = setTimeout(function() {
  timeout = window.setTimeout(arguments.callee, 1000);
}, 10);

clearTimeout(timeout);

But this would be better written as

function iter() {
  timeout = setTimeout(iter, 1000);
}

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 08 '17 at 14:00

1

Store the timeout in a variable that is outside of the scope of the recursion. Also avoid using arguments.callee due to IE's limitations. You can check a working fiddle here.

var timeout = null;

function updateTimeout() {
    timeout = setTimeout(updateTimeout, 1000)
    console.log('hoi')
}

// Start the timeout
updateTimeout();

answered Jun 08 '17 at 14:00

Remy Kabel

946
1
7
15

No, avoid using `arguments.callee` because it's bad practice and deprecated and won't work at all in strict mode. – Jun 08 '17 at 14:11
True too, but it's a combination of both – Remy Kabel Jun 08 '17 at 18:36

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 08 '17 at 13:56

You need to reassign timeout each time you set new timeout. And get rid of arguments.callee. Try this working example:

<button onclick="myFunction()">Try it</button>
<button onclick="myStopFunction()">Stop the alert</button>

<script>
var timeout;

function myFunction() {
    timeout = setTimeout(function timerHandler() {
        timeout = setTimeout(timerHandler, 1000);
    }, 1000)
}

function myStopFunction() {
    clearTimeout(timeout);
}
</script>

Clear specific timeout

3 Answers3