Question

I am trying to set a session timeout with Javascript and looks like the alert is blocking the timer from starting. Here is my code:

var first_timer = 2 * 1000;
var second_timer = 8 * 1000;
var down = -1;

function initTimer() {
  down = setTimeout(processTimeout, first_timer)
}

function processTimeout() {
        down = setTimeout(logout, second_timer);
        alert ("Timeout of first timer, timerid:" + down );
}

function logout() {
  alert("You are logged out");
  window.location = "http://www.google.com"
}

function clearTimer() {
  if ( -1 != down )
    clearTimeout(down);
  alert("Restarting timer");
  initTimer();
}

initTimer();

When I run the above, I see the second timer only starts after the first alert is dismissed. How can I make sure the second timer starts immediately after first timeout even if the alert is not dismissed?

Thx

Answer 1

The alert() function blocks everything else until it is dismissed. You can use whats known as a modal dialog to create your own alert style message that does not block.

jQuery UI has this feature.