IdleDeadline.timeRemaining()

The timeRemaining() method on the IdleDeadline interface returns the estimated number of milliseconds remaining in the current idle period. The callback can call this method at any time to determine how much time it can continue to work before it must return. For example, if the callback finishes a task and has another one to begin, it can call timeRemaining() to see if there's enough time to complete the next task. If there isn't, the callback can just return immediately, or look for other work to do with the remaining time.

By the time timeRemaining() reaches 0, the callback must return control to the user agent's event loop.

Syntax

timeRemaining = IdleDeadline.timeRemaining();

Return value

A DOMHighResTimeStamp value (which is a floating-point number) representing the number of milliseconds the user agent estimates are left in the current idle period. The value is ideally accurate to within about 5 microseconds.

If the IdleDeadline object's didTimeout property is true, this method returns zero.

Example

See our complete example in the article Cooperative Scheduling of Background Tasks API.

Specifications

Browser compatibility

[1] Idle callback support was added in Firefox 53, but was disabled by default. To enable it, set the preference dom.requestIdleCallback.enabled to true. Idle callbacks are enabled by default starting in Firefox 55.

See also

• Collaborative Scheduling of Background Tasks
• IdleDeadline
• Window.requestIdleCallback()
• Window.cancelIdleCallback()