setTimeout for python

Call a function some time in the future.

Requires package apscheduler, installable via pip.

from apscheduler.scheduler import Scheduler
import datetime as dt

sched = Scheduler()
sched.start()

def timeout(job_fn, *fn_args, **delta_args):
    """Like setTimeout in javascript; returns a job object

    First argument is the function to be called.

    Positional arguments will be passed to the function when it's called.

    Keyword arguemnts will be passed to datetime.timedelta

    Usage:
        # calls `fn()` after 3 seconds
        timeout(fn, seconds=3)

        # calls `fn(foo, bar)` after 10 seconds
        timeout(fn, foor, bar, seconds=10)
    """
    time = dt.datetime.now() + dt.timedelta(**delta_args)
    return sched.add_date_job(job_fn, time, fn_args)

Note: unlike node.js, having scheduled callbacks does not prevent the process from quitting. if you need the process to stay alive, use time.sleep(...).

Usage example on gist: https://gist.github.com/hasenj/5352608