Question

how can I limit the execution time of my iterate-deepening search without using a thread?

Currently I use this simple implementation, but it is not efficient and sometimes even does not terminate within the given timeframe..

timer.Start();
best = doSearch();
timer.Stop();
dpuble time = timer.Duration;
while (time*1000 < 400)
{
   timer.Start();
   best = doSearch();
   timer.Stop();
   time += timer.Duration;
}

Answer 1

If you want to avoid threading, you would need to pass a timestamp into your doSearch() method. It could (periodically) check the current time, and if the duration is past some threshold, raise an exception or return the failed case.