Stopwatch.ElapsedMilliseconds Property (System.Diagnostics)

ElapsedMilliseconds Property

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

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.NET Framework Class Library

Stopwatch..::.ElapsedMilliseconds Property

Updated: November 2007

Gets the total elapsed time measured by the current instance, in milliseconds.

Namespace: System.Diagnostics
Assembly: System (in System.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public ReadOnly Property ElapsedMilliseconds As Long

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As Stopwatch
Dim value As Long

value = instance.ElapsedMilliseconds

public long ElapsedMilliseconds { get; }

Visual C++

public:
property long long ElapsedMilliseconds {
    long long get ();
}

/** @property */
public long get_ElapsedMilliseconds()

JScript

public function get ElapsedMilliseconds () : long

Property Value

Type: System..::.Int64

A read-only long integer representing the total number of milliseconds measured by the current instance.

Remarks

This property represents elapsed time rounded down to the nearest whole millisecond value. For higher precision measurements, use the Elapsed or ElapsedTicks properties.

You can query the properties Elapsed, ElapsedMilliseconds, and ElapsedTicks while the Stopwatch instance is running or stopped. The elapsed time properties steadily increase while the Stopwatch is running; they remain constant when the instance is stopped.

By default, the elapsed time value of a Stopwatch instance equals the total of all measured time intervals. Each call to Start begins counting at the cumulative elapsed time; each call to Stop ends the current interval measurement and freezes the cumulative elapsed time value. Use the Reset method to clear the cumulative elapsed time in an existing Stopwatch instance.

Examples

The following example uses the Stopwatch class to measure the performance of four different implementations for parsing an integer from a string. This code example is part of a larger example provided for the Stopwatch class.

Visual Basic

   Private Shared Sub TimeOperations()

      Dim nanosecPerTick As Long = 1000000000 / Stopwatch.Frequency
      Const numIterations As Long = 10000

      ' Define the operation title names.
      Dim operationNames As String() =  _
        {"Operation: Int32.Parse(""0"")", _
         "Operation: Int32.TryParse(""0"")", _
         "Operation: Int32.Parse(""a"")", _
         "Operation: Int32.TryParse(""a"")"}

      ' Time four different implementations for parsing 
      ' an integer from a string. 

      Dim operation As Integer
      For operation = 0 To 3
         ' Define variables for operation statistics.
         Dim numTicks As Long = 0
         Dim numRollovers As Long = 0
         Dim maxTicks As Long = 0
         Dim minTicks As Long = Int64.MaxValue
         Dim indexFastest As Integer = - 1
         Dim indexSlowest As Integer = - 1
         Dim milliSec As Long = 0

         Dim time10kOperations As Stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew()

         ' Run the current operation 10001 times.
         ' The first execution time will be tossed
         ' out, since it can skew the average time.
         Dim i As Integer
         For i = 0 To numIterations
            Dim ticksThisTime As Long = 0
            Dim inputNum As Integer
            Dim timePerParse As Stopwatch

            Select Case operation
               Case 0
                  ' Parse a valid integer using
                  ' a try-catch statement.
                  ' Start a new stopwatch timer.
                  timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew()

                  Try
                     inputNum = Int32.Parse("0")
                  Catch e As FormatException
                     inputNum = 0
                  End Try

                  ' Stop the timer, and save the
                  ' elapsed ticks for the operation.
                  timePerParse.Stop()
                  ticksThisTime = timePerParse.ElapsedTicks
               Case 1
                  ' Parse a valid integer using
                  ' the TryParse statement.
                  ' Start a new stopwatch timer.
                  timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew()

                  If Not Int32.TryParse("0", inputNum) Then
                     inputNum = 0
                  End If

                  ' Stop the timer, and save the
                  ' elapsed ticks for the operation.
                  timePerParse.Stop()
                  ticksThisTime = timePerParse.ElapsedTicks
               Case 2
                  ' Parse an invalid value using
                  ' a try-catch statement.
                  ' Start a new stopwatch timer.
                  timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew()

                  Try
                     inputNum = Int32.Parse("a")
                  Catch e As FormatException
                     inputNum = 0
                  End Try

                  ' Stop the timer, and save the
                  ' elapsed ticks for the operation.
                  timePerParse.Stop()
                  ticksThisTime = timePerParse.ElapsedTicks
               Case 3
                  ' Parse an invalid value using
                  ' the TryParse statement.
                  ' Start a new stopwatch timer.
                  timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew()

                  If Not Int32.TryParse("a", inputNum) Then
                     inputNum = 0
                  End If

                  ' Stop the timer, and save the
                  ' elapsed ticks for the operation.
                  timePerParse.Stop()
                  ticksThisTime = timePerParse.ElapsedTicks

               Case Else
            End Select

            ' Skip over the time for the first operation,
            ' just in case it caused a one-time
            ' performance hit.
            If i = 0 Then
               time10kOperations.Reset()
               time10kOperations.Start()
            Else

               ' Update operation statistics
               ' for iterations 1-10001.
               If maxTicks < ticksThisTime Then
                  indexSlowest = i
                  maxTicks = ticksThisTime
               End If
               If minTicks > ticksThisTime Then
                  indexFastest = i
                  minTicks = ticksThisTime
               End If
               numTicks += ticksThisTime
               If numTicks < ticksThisTime Then
                  ' Keep track of rollovers.
                  numRollovers += 1
               End If
            End If
         Next i

         ' Display the statistics for 10000 iterations.
         time10kOperations.Stop()
         milliSec = time10kOperations.ElapsedMilliseconds

         Console.WriteLine()
         Console.WriteLine("{0} Summary:", operationNames(operation))
         Console.WriteLine("  Slowest time:  #{0}/{1} = {2} ticks", _
            indexSlowest, numIterations, maxTicks)
         Console.WriteLine("  Fastest time:  #{0}/{1} = {2} ticks", _
            indexFastest, numIterations, minTicks)
         Console.WriteLine("  Average time:  {0} ticks = {1} nanoseconds", _
            numTicks / numIterations, numTicks * nanosecPerTick / numIterations)
         Console.WriteLine("  Total time looping through {0} operations: {1} milliseconds", _
            numIterations, milliSec)
      Next operation

   End Sub
End Class

private static void TimeOperations()
{
    long nanosecPerTick = (1000L*1000L*1000L) / Stopwatch.Frequency;
    const long numIterations = 10000;

    // Define the operation title names.
    String [] operationNames = {"Operation: Int32.Parse(\"0\")",
                                   "Operation: Int32.TryParse(\"0\")",
                                   "Operation: Int32.Parse(\"a\")",
                                   "Operation: Int32.TryParse(\"a\")"};


    // Time four different implementations for parsing 
    // an integer from a string. 

    for (int operation = 0; operation <= 3; operation++)
    {
        // Define variables for operation statistics.
        long numTicks = 0;
        long numRollovers = 0;
        long maxTicks = 0;
        long minTicks = Int64.MaxValue;
        int indexFastest = -1;
        int indexSlowest = -1;
        long milliSec = 0;

        Stopwatch time10kOperations = Stopwatch.StartNew();

        // Run the current operation 10001 times.
        // The first execution time will be tossed
        // out, since it can skew the average time.

        for (int i=0; i<=numIterations; i++) 
        {
            long ticksThisTime = 0;
            int inputNum;
            Stopwatch timePerParse;

            switch (operation)
            {
                case 0:
                    // Parse a valid integer using
                    // a try-catch statement.

                    // Start a new stopwatch timer.
                    timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew();

                    try 
                    {
                        inputNum = Int32.Parse("0");
                    }
                    catch (FormatException)
                    {
                        inputNum = 0;
                    }

                    // Stop the timer, and save the
                    // elapsed ticks for the operation.

                    timePerParse.Stop();
                    ticksThisTime = timePerParse.ElapsedTicks;
                    break;
                case 1:
                    // Parse a valid integer using
                    // the TryParse statement.

                    // Start a new stopwatch timer.
                    timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew();

                    if (!Int32.TryParse("0", out inputNum))
                    { 
                        inputNum = 0;
                    }

                    // Stop the timer, and save the
                    // elapsed ticks for the operation.
                    timePerParse.Stop();
                    ticksThisTime = timePerParse.ElapsedTicks;
                    break;
                case 2:
                    // Parse an invalid value using
                    // a try-catch statement.

                    // Start a new stopwatch timer.
                    timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew();

                    try 
                    {
                        inputNum = Int32.Parse("a");
                    }
                    catch (FormatException)
                    {
                        inputNum = 0;
                    }

                    // Stop the timer, and save the
                    // elapsed ticks for the operation.
                    timePerParse.Stop();
                    ticksThisTime = timePerParse.ElapsedTicks;
                    break;
                case 3:
                    // Parse an invalid value using
                    // the TryParse statement.

                    // Start a new stopwatch timer.
                    timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew();

                    if (!Int32.TryParse("a", out inputNum))
                    { 
                        inputNum = 0;
                    }

                    // Stop the timer, and save the
                    // elapsed ticks for the operation.
                    timePerParse.Stop();
                    ticksThisTime = timePerParse.ElapsedTicks;
                    break;

                default:
                    break;
            }

            // Skip over the time for the first operation,
            // just in case it caused a one-time
            // performance hit.
            if (i == 0)
            {
                time10kOperations.Reset();
                time10kOperations.Start();
            }
            else 
            {

                // Update operation statistics
                // for iterations 1-10001.
                if (maxTicks < ticksThisTime)
                {
                    indexSlowest = i;
                    maxTicks = ticksThisTime;
                }
                if (minTicks > ticksThisTime)
                {
                    indexFastest = i;
                    minTicks = ticksThisTime;
                }
                numTicks += ticksThisTime;
                if (numTicks < ticksThisTime)
                {
                    // Keep track of rollovers.
                    numRollovers ++;
                }
            }
        }  

        // Display the statistics for 10000 iterations.

        time10kOperations.Stop();
        milliSec = time10kOperations.ElapsedMilliseconds;

        Console.WriteLine();
        Console.WriteLine("{0} Summary:", operationNames[operation]);
        Console.WriteLine("  Slowest time:  #{0}/{1} = {2} ticks",
            indexSlowest, numIterations, maxTicks);
        Console.WriteLine("  Fastest time:  #{0}/{1} = {2} ticks",
            indexFastest, numIterations, minTicks);
        Console.WriteLine("  Average time:  {0} ticks = {1} nanoseconds", 
            numTicks / numIterations, 
            (numTicks * nanosecPerTick) / numIterations );
        Console.WriteLine("  Total time looping through {0} operations: {1} milliseconds", 
            numIterations, milliSec);
    }
}

Visual C++

void TimeOperations()
{
   Int64 nanosecPerTick = (1000L * 1000L * 1000L) / Stopwatch::Frequency;
   const long numIterations = 10000;

   // Define the operation title names.
   array<String^>^operationNames = {"Operation: Int32.Parse(\"0\")","Operation: Int32.TryParse(\"0\")","Operation: Int32.Parse(\"a\")","Operation: Int32.TryParse(\"a\")"};

   // Time four different implementations for parsing 
   // an integer from a string. 
   for ( int operation = 0; operation <= 3; operation++ )
   {
      // Define variables for operation statistics.
      Int64 numTicks = 0;
      Int64 numRollovers = 0;
      Int64 maxTicks = 0;
      Int64 minTicks = Int64::MaxValue;
      int indexFastest = -1;
      int indexSlowest = -1;
      Int64 milliSec = 0;
      Stopwatch ^ time10kOperations = Stopwatch::StartNew();

      // Run the current operation 10001 times.
      // The first execution time will be tossed
      // out, since it can skew the average time.
      for ( int i = 0; i <= numIterations; i++ )
      {
         Int64 ticksThisTime = 0;
         int inputNum;
         Stopwatch ^ timePerParse;
         switch ( operation )
         {
            case 0:

               // Parse a valid integer using
               // a try-catch statement.
               // Start a new stopwatch timer.
               timePerParse = Stopwatch::StartNew();
               try
               {
                  inputNum = Int32::Parse( "0" );
               }
               catch ( FormatException^ ) 
               {
                  inputNum = 0;
               }

               // Stop the timer, and save the
               // elapsed ticks for the operation.
               timePerParse->Stop();
               ticksThisTime = timePerParse->ElapsedTicks;
               break;

            case 1:

               // Parse a valid integer using
               // the TryParse statement.
               // Start a new stopwatch timer.
               timePerParse = Stopwatch::StartNew();
               if (  !Int32::TryParse( "0", inputNum ) )
               {
                  inputNum = 0;
               }

               // Stop the timer, and save the
               // elapsed ticks for the operation.
               timePerParse->Stop();
               ticksThisTime = timePerParse->ElapsedTicks;
               break;

            case 2:

               // Parse an invalid value using
               // a try-catch statement.
               // Start a new stopwatch timer.
               timePerParse = Stopwatch::StartNew();
               try
               {
                  inputNum = Int32::Parse( "a" );
               }
               catch ( FormatException^ ) 
               {
                  inputNum = 0;
               }

               // Stop the timer, and save the
               // elapsed ticks for the operation.
               timePerParse->Stop();
               ticksThisTime = timePerParse->ElapsedTicks;
               break;

            case 3:

               // Parse an invalid value using
               // the TryParse statement.
               // Start a new stopwatch timer.
               timePerParse = Stopwatch::StartNew();
               if (  !Int32::TryParse( "a", inputNum ) )
               {
                  inputNum = 0;
               }

               // Stop the timer, and save the
               // elapsed ticks for the operation.
               timePerParse->Stop();
               ticksThisTime = timePerParse->ElapsedTicks;
               break;

            default:
               break;
         }

         // Skip over the time for the first operation,
         // just in case it caused a one-time
         // performance hit.
         if ( i == 0 )
         {
            time10kOperations->Reset();
            time10kOperations->Start();
         }
         else
         {
            // Update operation statistics
            // for iterations 1-10001.
            if ( maxTicks < ticksThisTime )
            {
               indexSlowest = i;
               maxTicks = ticksThisTime;
            }
            if ( minTicks > ticksThisTime )
            {
               indexFastest = i;
               minTicks = ticksThisTime;
            }
            numTicks += ticksThisTime;
            if ( numTicks < ticksThisTime )
            {
               // Keep track of rollovers.
               numRollovers++;
            }
         }
      }

      // Display the statistics for 10000 iterations.
      time10kOperations->Stop();
      milliSec = time10kOperations->ElapsedMilliseconds;
      Console::WriteLine();
      Console::WriteLine( "{0} Summary:", operationNames[ operation ] );
      Console::WriteLine( "  Slowest time:  #{0}/{1} = {2} ticks", indexSlowest, numIterations, maxTicks );
      Console::WriteLine( "  Fastest time:  #{0}/{1} = {2} ticks", indexFastest, numIterations, minTicks );
      Console::WriteLine( "  Average time:  {0} ticks = {1} nanoseconds", numTicks / numIterations, (numTicks * nanosecPerTick) / numIterations );
      Console::WriteLine( "  Total time looping through {0} operations: {1} milliseconds", numIterations, milliSec );

   }
}

private static void TimeOperations()
{
    long nanoSecPerTick = (1000L * 1000L * 1000L) / Stopwatch.Frequency;
    final long numIterations = 10000;

    // Define the operation title names.
    String operationNames[] =  { "Operation: Int32.Parse(\"0\")", 
        "Operation: Int32.TryParse(\"0\")", "Operation: Int32.Parse(\"a\")",
        "Operation: Int32.TryParse(\"a\")" };

    // Time four different implementations for parsing 
    // an integer from a string. 
    for (int operation = 0; operation <= 3; operation++) {
        // Define variables for operation statistics.
        long numTicks = 0;
        long numRollovers = 0;
        long maxTicks = 0;
        long minTicks = Int64.MaxValue;
        int indexFastest = -1;
        int indexSlowest = -1;
        long milliSec = 0;

        Stopwatch time10kOperations = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        // Run the current operation 10001 times.
        // The first execution time will be tossed
        // out, since it can skew the average time.
        for (int i = 0; i <= numIterations; i++) {
            long ticksThisTime = 0;
            int inputNum = 0;
            Stopwatch timePerParse;

            switch (operation) {
                case 0:
                    // Parse a valid integer using
                    // a try-catch statement.
                    // Start a new stopwatch timer.
                    timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew();

                    try {
                        inputNum = Int32.Parse("0");
                    }
                    catch (FormatException exp) {
                        inputNum = 0;
                    }
                    // Stop the timer, and save the
                    // elapsed ticks for the operation.
                    timePerParse.Stop();
                    ticksThisTime = timePerParse.get_ElapsedTicks();
                    break;

                case 1:
                    // Parse a valid integer using
                    // the TryParse statement.
                    // Start a new stopwatch timer.
                    timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew();

                    if (!(Int32.TryParse("0", inputNum))) {
                        inputNum = 0;
                    }
                    // Stop the timer, and save the
                    // elapsed ticks for the operation.
                    timePerParse.Stop();
                    ticksThisTime = timePerParse.get_ElapsedTicks();
                    break;

                case 2:
                    // Parse an invalid value using
                    // a try-catch statement.
                    // Start a new stopwatch timer.
                    timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew();

                    try {
                        inputNum = Int32.Parse("a");
                    }
                    catch (FormatException exp) {
                        inputNum = 0;
                    }
                    // Stop the timer, and save the
                    // elapsed ticks for the operation.
                    timePerParse.Stop();
                    ticksThisTime = timePerParse.get_ElapsedTicks();
                    break;

                case 3:
                    // Parse an invalid value using
                    // the TryParse statement.
                    // Start a new stopwatch timer.
                    timePerParse = Stopwatch.StartNew();

                    if (!(Int32.TryParse("a", inputNum))) {
                        inputNum = 0;
                    }
                    // Stop the timer, and save the
                    // elapsed ticks for the operation.
                    timePerParse.Stop();
                    ticksThisTime = timePerParse.get_ElapsedTicks();
                    break;

                default:
                    break;
            }
            // Skip over the time for the first operation,
            // just in case it caused a one-time
            // performance hit.
            if (i == 0) {
                time10kOperations.Reset();
                time10kOperations.Start();
            }
            else {
                // Update operation statistics
                // for iterations 1-10001.
                if (maxTicks < ticksThisTime) {
                    indexSlowest = i;
                    maxTicks = ticksThisTime;
                }
                if (minTicks > ticksThisTime) {
                    indexFastest = i;
                    minTicks = ticksThisTime;
                }
                numTicks += ticksThisTime;
                if (numTicks < ticksThisTime) {
                    // Keep track of rollovers.
                    numRollovers++;
                }
            }
        }
        // Display the statistics for 10000 iterations.
        time10kOperations.Stop();
        milliSec = time10kOperations.get_ElapsedMilliseconds();

        Console.WriteLine();
        Console.WriteLine("{0} Summary:", 
            operationNames.get_Item(operation));
        Console.WriteLine("  Slowest time:  #{0}/{1} = {2} ticks", 
            (Int32)indexSlowest, (Int64)numIterations, (Int64)maxTicks);
        Console.WriteLine("  Fastest time:  #{0}/{1} = {2} ticks", 
            (Int32)indexFastest, (Int64)numIterations, (Int64)minTicks);
        Console.WriteLine("  Average time:  {0} ticks = {1} nanoseconds", 
            (System.Double)(numTicks / numIterations), 
            (System.Double)(numTicks * nanoSecPerTick / numIterations));
        Console.WriteLine("  Total time looping through {0} operations: "
            + "{1} milliseconds", (Int64)numIterations, (Int64)milliSec);
    }
} //TimeOperations

Platforms

Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Version Information