The Inner Workings of JavaScript’s Setinterval()

setInterval() is a JavaScript function that allows you to execute a function or block of code at a specified interval (in milliseconds). It returns an interval ID that you can use to clear the interval using the clearInterval() function.

• setInterval() is a non-blocking function, which means that it does not block the execution of the rest of the code. This means that you can have multiple intervals running at the same time, and they will not interfere with each other.
• The interval is specified in milliseconds, so an interval of 1000 milliseconds (1 second) would mean that the function is called every second.
• The function or code block passed to setInterval() is called a callback function. It can be a function declaration, a function expression, or an arrow function.
• setInterval() does not guarantee that the callback function will be called exactly at the specified interval. The actual interval may vary depending on the performance of the system and other factors. This means that if you want to execute a function at a precise interval, you may need to use a different technique, such as using setTimeout() in a loop.
• You can use clearInterval() to stop the interval from repeating. You need to pass it the interval ID returned by setInterval(). If you no longer have the interval ID, you cannot stop the interval.

Here’s an example of how you might use setInterval() to print a message to the console every 2 seconds:

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const intervalID = setInterval(() => {
  console.log('Hello, world!');
}, 2000);

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You can stop the interval from repeating by calling clearInterval() and passing it the interval ID:

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clearInterval(intervalID);

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Note that setInterval() is not guaranteed to run exactly at the interval specified, as the actual interval may vary depending on the performance of the system and other factors.