Instantly Executing setInterval with JavaScript

Using setInterval for situation polling has actually been helpful through the years. Whether or not polling on the consumer or server sides, being reactive to particular situations helps to enhance person expertise. One process I not too long ago wanted to finish required that my setInterval instantly execute after which proceed executing.

The traditional and greatest approach to instantly name a perform firstly of a setInterval is to truly name the perform earlier than the preliminary setInterval` is known as:

myFunction();
setInterval(myFunction, 1000); // Each second

If you happen to actually wish to isolate the perform name to the setInterval, you should utilize this trick of self-executing perform that returns itself:

// Use a named perform ...
setInterval(perform myFunction() {
  // Do some stuff
  // ...

  // ... then return this perform
  return myFunction;

// () self-executes the perform
}(), 3000)

The down aspect to this sample is that it causes a upkeep situation, the place the following developer does not perceive what’s going on.

Upkeep is a vital a part of being a very good engineer, so on the very least, documentation within the type of feedback or a helper perform needs to be required. If you happen to actually wish to have a self-executing setInterval, you have acquired it!