VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

GetTimer Function

Class

Microsoft.VisualBasic.VBMath

Syntax

GetTimer(  )

Return Value

A Double indicating the number of seconds

Description

Returns the number of seconds since midnight

Programming Tips and Gotchas

• You can use the GetTimer function as an easy method of passing a seed number to the Randomize procedure, as follows:

  Randomize GetTimer(  )

• The GetTimer function is ideal for measuring the time taken to execute a procedure or block of code, as the following snippet shows:

  Dim dblStartTime As Double
  Dim i As Integer
  
  dblStartTime = Timer(  )
  For I = 1 to 100
     Console.WriteLine("Hello")
  Next
  Console.WriteLine("Time Taken = " & GetTimer(  ) - _
                    dblStartTime & " Seconds")

VB.NET/VB 6 Differences

• The GetTimer function is new to VB.NET. However, it is functionally identical to the VB 6 Timer function (and VB.NET Timer property), which continues to be supported.

• In contrast to the VB 6 Timer function, which returned a Single, the VB.NET GetTimer function and Timer property return a Double.

See Also

Timer Property