Function called automatically after a given time in erlang

Question

Is there any function in Erlang which gets called automatically after a given amount of time and once it is triggered it should automatically be called after given amount of time, there should be no need to trigger it again and again. I am writing a module in Erlang which does cleaning task on ejabberd server. This module once triggered needs to be called daily automatically. Any pointers?

Answer 1

The library timer provide several functions:

• apply_after, send_after that allow to execute a function or send a message after a certain amount of time,

• apply_interval, send_interval that allow to execute a function or send a message periodically.

With a combination of apply_after and apply_interval or send interval you should be able to do what you want.