Code for a simple JavaScript countdown timer?

Question

var count=30;

var counter=setInterval(timer, 1000); //1000 will  run it every 1 second

function timer()
{
  count=count-1;
  if (count <= 0)
  {
     clearInterval(counter);
     //counter ended, do something here
     return;
  }

  //Do code for showing the number of seconds here
}

To make the code for the timer appear in a paragraph (or anywhere else on the page), just put the line:

<span id="timer"></span>

where you want the seconds to appear. Then insert the following line in your timer() function, so it looks like this:

function timer()
{
  count=count-1;
  if (count <= 0)
  {
     clearInterval(counter);
     return;
  }

 document.getElementById("timer").innerHTML=count + " secs"; // watch for spelling
}

I wrote this script some time ago:

Usage:

var myCounter = new Countdown({  
    seconds:5,  // number of seconds to count down
    onUpdateStatus: function(sec){console.log(sec);}, // callback for each second
    onCounterEnd: function(){ alert('counter ended!');} // final action
});

myCounter.start();

---

function Countdown(options) {
  var timer,
  instance = this,
  seconds = options.seconds || 10,
  updateStatus = options.onUpdateStatus || function () {},
  counterEnd = options.onCounterEnd || function () {};

  function decrementCounter() {
    updateStatus(seconds);
    if (seconds === 0) {
      counterEnd();
      instance.stop();
    }
    seconds--;
  }

  this.start = function () {
    clearInterval(timer);
    timer = 0;
    seconds = options.seconds;
    timer = setInterval(decrementCounter, 1000);
  };

  this.stop = function () {
    clearInterval(timer);
  };
}

So far the answers seem to rely on code being run instantly. If you set a timer for 1000ms, it will actually be around 1008 instead.

Here is how you should do it:

function timer(time,update,complete) {
    var start = new Date().getTime();
    var interval = setInterval(function() {
        var now = time-(new Date().getTime()-start);
        if( now <= 0) {
            clearInterval(interval);
            complete();
        }
        else update(Math.floor(now/1000));
    },100); // the smaller this number, the more accurate the timer will be
}

To use, call:

timer(
    5000, // milliseconds
    function(timeleft) { // called every step to update the visible countdown
        document.getElementById('timer').innerHTML = timeleft+" second(s)";
    },
    function() { // what to do after
        alert("Timer complete!");
    }
);

Here is another one if anyone needs one for minutes and seconds:

    var mins = 10;  //Set the number of minutes you need
    var secs = mins * 60;
    var currentSeconds = 0;
    var currentMinutes = 0;
    /* 
     * The following line has been commented out due to a suggestion left in the comments. The line below it has not been tested. 
     * setTimeout('Decrement()',1000);
     */
    setTimeout(Decrement,1000); 

    function Decrement() {
        currentMinutes = Math.floor(secs / 60);
        currentSeconds = secs % 60;
        if(currentSeconds <= 9) currentSeconds = "0" + currentSeconds;
        secs--;
        document.getElementById("timerText").innerHTML = currentMinutes + ":" + currentSeconds; //Set the element id you need the time put into.
        if(secs !== -1) setTimeout('Decrement()',1000);
    }

// Javascript Countdown
// Version 1.01 6/7/07 (1/20/2000)
// by TDavid at http://www.tdscripts.com/
var now = new Date();
var theevent = new Date("Sep 29 2007 00:00:01");
var seconds = (theevent - now) / 1000;
var minutes = seconds / 60;
var hours = minutes / 60;
var days = hours / 24;
ID = window.setTimeout("update();", 1000);

function update() {
  now = new Date();
  seconds = (theevent - now) / 1000;
  seconds = Math.round(seconds);
  minutes = seconds / 60;
  minutes = Math.round(minutes);
  hours = minutes / 60;
  hours = Math.round(hours);
  days = hours / 24;
  days = Math.round(days);
  document.form1.days.value = days;
  document.form1.hours.value = hours;
  document.form1.minutes.value = minutes;
  document.form1.seconds.value = seconds;
  ID = window.setTimeout("update();", 1000);
}

<p><font face="Arial" size="3">Countdown To January 31, 2000, at 12:00: </font>
</p>
<form name="form1">
  <p>Days
    <input type="text" name="days" value="0" size="3">Hours
    <input type="text" name="hours" value="0" size="4">Minutes
    <input type="text" name="minutes" value="0" size="7">Seconds
    <input type="text" name="seconds" value="0" size="7">
  </p>
</form>