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up vote 2 down vote favorite

Is it possible to stop the execution of a function in javascript on click of a button or any other event for that matter? Following is my dilemma

function drop() {

    setTimeout(function () {    //  call a 250ms setTimeout when the loop is called
       setMarkers(map, locationArray, locationNameArray, iterator);
       iterator++;
       if (iterator < locationArray.length) {      //  if the counter < 10, loop!
         drop();             
       }
     }, 250);
}

This function drops Google maps pins on my canvas at an interval of 250ms. Now if the user wants to navigate to the previous screen (away from the Map page), on click of the back button I want to stop the execution of this drop() function, reset the counter (iterator) and go back.

Any idea how I can do this or if its even possible? Thanks!

share|improve this question
    
If the user clicks the back button that would take them away from the current page which would automatically stop the JS on the current page from running. Resetting iterator seems a bit redundant when it won't even exist once the previous page (re)loads... –  nnnnnn Jun 19 '12 at 6:05

1 Answer 1

up vote 6 down vote accepted

The easiest way to do this is to throw a "globally" scoped variable in there, and check for it on each iteration.

var cancel = false;
function drop() {
    setTimeout(function () {    //  call a 250ms setTimeout when the loop is called
       setMarkers(map, locationArray, locationNameArray, iterator);
       iterator++;
       if (iterator < locationArray.length && cancel === false) {      //  if the counter < 10, loop!
         drop();             
       }
     }, 250);
}

Then update the same variable in your event handler:

$("#mybutton").click(function() {
    cancel = true;
});
share|improve this answer
    
Thanks a lot! Very simple and effective implementation. Damn, why didn't I think of that before –  ares05 Jun 19 '12 at 6:24

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