/*
   sys/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_SYS_TIMER_H__
#define __INCLUDED_SYS_TIMER_H__

namespace sys
{

/// 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:
	/**
	 * @brief constructor
	 * The constructor autmaticly calls reset()
	 * */
	Timer();
	
	/**
	 * @brief destructor
	 * */
	~Timer();

	/**
	 * @brief reset the timer to 0
	 */
	void reset();

	/**
	 * @brief return the time elapsed since the last reset() call, in milliseconds
	 * 
	 * */
	unsigned long timestamp() const;

private:
	unsigned long			timer_start;

}; // class Timer

} // namespace sys

#endif // __INCLUDED_SYS_TIMER_H__