Implementing a Helper Loop with the periodic timing API, as described in the Wovalab Utilities Toolkit, offers several advantages for acquisition loops:
- Steady Period Execution: The API ensures that the `Timeout` case in the event structure executes at consistent intervals, maintaining a reliable acquisition rate.
- Resilience to Event Resets: It adjusts the `Timeout` value to account for any events that reset the timeout counter, preventing disruptions in the periodic execution.
- Compensation for Execution Delays: The API modifies the `Timeout` value to consider the time spent executing code within the `Timeout` case, ensuring that longer execution times don't delay subsequent iterations.
- Late Execution Monitoring: It provides mechanisms to detect and handle situations where the `Timeout` case execution is delayed beyond the expected period, allowing for corrective actions.
By addressing these aspects, the Helper Loop periodic timing API enhances the reliability and accuracy of acquisition loops, making it a preferred approach for applications requiring precise timing.
Besides this nice toolkit feature the following aspects should be considered: