Commands

wait

Supported By

Syntax

wait (until|while) condition

wait [for] number [unit]

Condition is an expression that always yields true or false. Number yields an integer or a number. Unit is one of the following: nanoseconds, microseconds, milliseconds, seconds, ticks, minutes, hours, nanosecond, microsecond, millisecond, second, tick, minute, or hour.

Description

The wait command causes the interpreter to pause before executing the rest of the script. The wait until form will pause until the specified condition becomes true. The wait while form will pause until the specified condition becomes false. The wait for form will pause for the specified length of time.

If no unit is specified, the wait command assumes ticks, defined as sixtieths of a second.

Note

The wait command causes a busy wait—the interpreter keeps running in an infinite loop, checking the specified condition or the elapsed time since the command began executing. Although you can specify a length of time as short as a nanosecond, there is absolutely no guarantee on how long the wait will actually be. The wait command cannot be used for thread synchronization or real-time applications.

Compatibility

HyperTalk only supports seconds, ticks, second, and tick for the unit.