Heartlib

This project provides a state-of-the-art library for dynamic heartbeat script management. With Heartlib you can assign any script to be called by any object (creature, placeable, even item) in a loop with a custom delay. There is no need to modify this script at all. Heartbeats can be paused, stopped, their settings modified during runtime and the same script can be registered multiple times.

See readme file inside project's archive for more information and installation instruction.

A demo module is provided.

CHANGELOG

1.4 (2019-12-04)

• Current heartbeat ID is now updated even when the heartbeat is paused.
• Reintroduced debug mode in form of fully customizable support script that is executed before all other heartbeats in the module.
• Added two new functions for support script control: HEART_GetSupportScript and HEART_SetSupportScript (self-explanatory).
• Added example support script (heart_support) that acts as heartbeat debugger.
• Made sure that heartbeats are started only after current script terminates.

1.3 (2019-10-15)

• Rearranged parameters of HEART_Start - oTarget is now after sScript.
• Reduced heartbeat ID storage (accessible via HEART_GetID) to advisory role only to prevent loss of sync when variables are changed manually (HEART_Start still refuses to overwrite heartbeats).
• Added check in HEART_Start for heartbeat key ring being equal to -1.
• Updated HEART_Check declaration to match the rest of the script.

1.2 (2019-10-04)

• Fixed critical bug preventing heartbeats from being stopped correctly.
• Fixed race condition allowing a heartbeat to keep running when it is stopped but a new heartbeat with same ID is quickly started.
• Changed HEART_Start to begin heartbeat execution immediately rather than wait fDelay, but added a possibility to defer it when this value is negative.
• Current heartbeat ID is now updated even when the script is null.

1.1 (2019-09-30)

• Removed debug mode.
• Changed names of several functions to be more convenient (shorter): HEART_RegisterHeartbeat -> HEART_Start, HEART_UnregisterHeartbeat -> HEART_Stop, HEART_IsRegistered -> HEART_Check, HEART_GetCurrentID -> HEART_GetID (these two functions are now merged - see below).
• Merged 1.0 HEART_GetCurrentID and HEART_GetID into new HEART_GetID: when the iNth parameter is zero (the default), current heartbeat ID is returned.
• Current heartbeat ID is now not cleared after the script is finished which allows checking at any time which heartbeat was executed last.
• Introduced minimum heartbeat delay of 0.01 - lower values are automatically corrected to it upon registration and during runtime.
• Prevented heartbeats loops from terminating (by design) when invalid script and delay parameters are encountered.
• Changed return value of HEART_Start from int to void.
• Fixed HEART_Argv to actually honor its sDelimiter parameter.

1.0 (2019-09-27)

• Initial release.