Using timers

The <timer> element lets you invoke a task automatically after some period of user inactivity. Timers have a number of useful applications, including the following:

• displaying a splash screen for 5 seconds before advancing to the next card
• automatically updating a stock quote every 15 minutes
• limiting the time that sensitive data is displayed on the screen

The following is a simplified synopsis of the <timer> element:

<timer default="value"/>

You must specify default values in units of 1/10 seconds--so, for example, a value of 100 equals 10 seconds. Specifying a value of 0 disables the timer.

The following example displays the text "Acme Inventory Listing" for 5 seconds. When the timer expires, the device opens the URL specified by the ontimer attribute which, in this case, executes the Inventory.cgi script.

<wml>
<card id="splash" ontimer="Inventory.cgi">
<timer value="50"/>
<p>
Acme Inventory Listing
</p>
</card>
</wml>