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Ticker

Table of Contents

  1. Hello World!
  2. API
  3. Examples

The Ticker interface is used to setup a recurring interrupt to repeatedly call a function at a specified rate.

Any number of Ticker objects can be created, allowing multiple outstanding interrupts at the same time. The function can be a static function, or a member function of a particular object.

Hello World!

A simple program to setup a Ticker to invert an LED repeatedly...

Repository: Ticker_HelloWorld

API

API summary

Import librarymbed

No documentation found.

Warning

Note that timers are based on 32-bit int microsecond counters, so can only time up to a maximum of 2^31-1 microseconds i.e. 30 minutes. They are designed for times between microseconds and seconds. For longer times, you should consider the time()/Real time clock.

No blocking code in ISR

In ISR you should avoid any call to wait, infinitive while loop, or blocking calls in general.

No printf, malloc, or new in ISR

In ISR you should avoid any call to bulky library functions. In particular, certain library functions (like printf, malloc and new) are non re-entrant and their behaviour could be corrupted when called from an ISR.

RTOS Timer

Consider using the mbed RTOS Timer instead of a Ticker. In this way your periodic function will not be executed in a ISR, giving you more freedom and safety in your code.

Examples

Example attaching a member function to a ticker

#include "mbed.h"

// A class for flip()-ing a DigitalOut 
class Flipper {
public:
    Flipper(PinName pin) : _pin(pin) {
        _pin = 0;
    }
    void flip() {
        _pin = !_pin;
    }
private:
    DigitalOut _pin;
};

DigitalOut led1(LED1);
Flipper f(LED2);
Ticker t;

int main() {
    t.attach(&f, &Flipper::flip, 2.0); // the address of the object, member function, and interval

    // spin in a main loop. flipper will interrupt it to call flip
    while(1) {
        led1 = !led1;
        wait(0.2);
    }
}
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