HIGH RESOLUTION TIMER

Posted in DOTNET with 468 views.

The QueryPerformanceCounter function returns the current value of the high-resolution performance counter. The current Windows Forms Timer, returns a 1 second resolution, in many cases that may be enough. When timing is a must, using the QueryPerformanceFrequency is the best in its class.

The only thing you do is import the library included in the zip file to your references. The sourcecode is given since the only way I learned programming was from all the opensource out there. So the least I could do is contribute as well.

Comparisons between existing timers

Function                 Units                      Resolution
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, Time, Timer         seconds                    1 second
GetTickCount             milliseconds               approx. 10 ms
TimeGetTime              milliseconds               approx. 10 ms
QueryPerformanceCounter  QueryPerformanceFrequency  same

The table above shows the difference in resolution within the current Timing methods available in .NET 2.0. It is clear that QueryPerformanceCounter is the best for crucial timing applications.

Download

The Library: here

The Source Code: here

References

• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q172338/
• http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.timers.timer.aspx