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JavaScript JavaScript and the DOM (Retiring) Responding to User Interaction Delaying Execution with setTimeout()

Posted by Gavin Johnston
Gavin Johnston
9,107 Points

How does the setTimeout function knows that the argument should be passed to the function expression?

I really dont understand this. 

window.setTimout((something) => {
 console.log(something);
}, 3000, 'Hello');

The string hello is not part of the anonymus function which acctepts an argument for (somthing), yet it is passing the string Hello to it.

Any help appreciated, very confused here.

3 Answers

Peter Vann
Peter Vann
36,425 Points
Peter Vann
Peter Vann
36,425 Points

Hi Gavin!

I can't exactly tell you why or how it works (I'd have to see the actual setTimeout source code), but just that it does work that way - and for multiple parameters.

(setInterval is similar, too)

Like This:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<p>Click "Try it". Wait 3 seconds, and the page will alert "Hello".</p>

<button onclick="setTimeout(myFunction, 3000, 3, 5);">Try it</button>

<script>
function myFunction(num1, num2) {
  alert(num1 * num2);
}
</script>

</body>
</html>

Will produce an alert box with 15 in it.

setInterval must be coded something like this, though:

const setTimeout = (callbackFunction, delayInterval, ...args) => {
    // some code that waits/sleeps for the duration of the delayInterval in miliseconds
    callbackfunction(arguments); // call the callback function after waiting and pass in the exploded argArray
}

More info:

https://programming.vip/docs/source-code-analysis-of-settimeout-and-setinterval.html (Didn't quite grasp this, to be honest!?!)

https://medium.com/@andr.smolko/easyspec-how-does-settimeout-invoke-a-callback-function-in-a-browser-620e7edd96be

https://usefulangle.com/post/198/javascript-settimeout-pass-parameter

I hope that helps.

Stay safe and happy coding!

Gavin Johnston
Gavin Johnston
9,107 Points

It seems to just pass the arguments based on the order they appear without having to specifically tell it to do so, for instance..

window.setTimeout((one, two, three) => {
 console.log(one, two, three, two, one);
}, 3000, 1, 2, 3);

Would output..

1 2 3 2 1

Peter Vann
Peter Vann
36,425 Points
Peter Vann
Peter Vann
36,425 Points

I sort of added my idea of how setTimeout is probably wired-up (it's not perfect, but it should help you visualize the "guts" of the function, theoretically, anyway)!?!

(Look at the middle of the original post.)

I hope that helps.

Stay safe and happy coding!

Peter Vann
Peter Vann
36,425 Points
Peter Vann
Peter Vann
36,425 Points

This might help, too:

const square = function(num) {
  return num * num;
}

const quad = function(func, num) { // Notice that func is a callback function
  return func(num) * func(num);
}

console.log( quad(square, 2) ); // Which becomes square

Which will log 16.

Or then you could also do this:

const cube = function(num) {
  return num * num * num;
}

const quad = function(func, num) { // Notice that func is a callback function
  return func(num) * func(num);
}

console.log( quad(cube, 2) ); // Which becomes cube, in this case

Which will log 64

I hope that helps.

Stay safe and happy coding!