How can I call a function every 3 seconds for 15 seconds?

Question

How do I call a jQuery function every 3 seconds?

$(document).ready(function ()
{
    //do stuff...

    $('post').each(function()
    {
        //do stuff...
    })

    //do stuff...
})

I'm trying to run that code for a period of 15 seconds.

Answer 1

None of the answers so far take into account that it only wants to happen for 15 seconds and then stop...

$(function() {
    var intervalID = setInterval(function() {
        //  Do whatever in here that happens every 3 seconds
    }, 3000);
    setTimeout(function() {
        clearInterval(intervalID);
    }, 18000);
});

This creates an interval (every 3 seconds) that runs whatever code you put in the function. After 15 seconds the interval is destroyed (there is an initial 3 second delay, hence the 18 second overall runtime).

Answer 2

You can use setTimeout to run a function after X milliseconds have passed.

var timeout = setTimeout(function(){
    $('post').each(function(){
        //do stuff...
    });
}, 3000);

Or, setInterval to run a function every X milliseconds.

var interval = setInterval(function(){
    $('post').each(function(){
        //do stuff...
    });
}, 3000);

setTimeout and setInterval return IDs, these can be used to clear the timeout/interval using clearTimeout or clearInterval.