Erlang Programming/Timeouts

Timeouts
Timeouts are created by the [ receive - after - end ] structure. Timeouts are measured in miliseconds so 4000 = 4 seconds. We can create a simple timer with the following program: myTimer.erl

% ============================================================ >% -module( myTimer ). -compile( export_all ). % % A simple timer that uses a timeout. % start( Timeout ) -> receive after Timeout -> io:format( "your ~w secs are up.", [Timeout/1000] ) end. % ============================================================ >% % % Sample output: % % 8> c(myTimer). % ok. % % 9> myTimer:start(4000). % your 4.00000 secs are up.ok

Timeout values may be any number greater than or equal to 0, including the atom 'infinity'.