setTimeLimit              package:base              R Documentation

Set CPU and/or Elapsed Time Limits

Description:

     Functions to set CPU and/or elapsed time limits for top-level
     computations or the current session.

Usage:

     setTimeLimit(cpu = Inf, elapsed = Inf, transient = FALSE)

     setSessionTimeLimit(cpu = Inf, elapsed = Inf)

Arguments:

     cpu: double.  Limit on total cpu time.

 elapsed: double.  Limit on elapsed time.

transient: logical.  If 'TRUE', the limits apply only to the rest of
          the current computation.

Details:

     'setTimeLimit' sets limits which apply to each top-level
     computation, that is a command line (including any continuation
     lines) entered at the console or from a file.  If it is called
     from within a computation the limits apply to the rest of the
     computation and (unless 'transient = TRUE' to subsequent top-level
     computations.

     'setSessionTimeLimit' sets limits for the rest of the session. 
     Once a session limit is reached it is reset to 'Inf'.

     Setting any limit has a small overhead - well under 1% on the
     systems measured.

     Time limits are checked whenever a user interrupt could occur.
     This will happen frequently in R code and during 'Sys.sleep', but
     only at points in compiled C and Foreign code identified by the
     code author.

     'Total cpu time' includes that used by child processes where the
     latter is reported.

     It is possible (but very unusual) to build R without support for
     'proc.time', in which case these functions have no effect.

