/*
   core/timer.h
   This file is part of the Osirion project and is distributed under
   the terms and conditions of the GNU General Public License version 2
*/

#ifndef __INCLUDED_CORE_TIMER_H__
#define __INCLUDED_CORE_TIMER_H__

#include <sys/time.h>

namespace core
{

/// a timer measures intervals in seconds
/*! A timer class measures the time elapsed
* between the last two calls to its mark() function.
*/
class Timer
{
public:
	/// Constructor
	Timer();
	/// Destructor
	~Timer();

	/// mark the current time as zero
	/*! Reset the timer, all subsequent calls too elapsed() will
	 * use the current timestamp as reference
	  */
	void mark();

	/*! return the time elapsed since the last mark, in seconds
	 * @see mark()
	 */
	float elapsed();

	/// return timestamp since last mark, in microseconds
	unsigned long timestamp();

private:
	float 				timer_elapsed;
	struct timezone 		timer_tz;
	struct timeval 			timer_tick;
}; // class Timer

} // namespace core

#endif // __INCLUDED_CORE_TIMER_H__