AI solution for Interview Question on BFE.dev
67. What is the difference between setTimeout and setInterval?

setTimeout is a method that executes a piece of code, once, after a specified amount of time has passed. It waits for a specific delay (in milliseconds) and then triggers the callback function. It returns a timer ID that can be used to cancel the timeout using the clearTimeout method.

setInterval is a method that will execute a piece of code repeatedly (every x milliseconds) until it is stopped using clearInterval. Like setTimeout, it also returns a timer ID.

The main difference between setTimeout and setInterval is that setTimeout is used to execute a function once, after a certain amount of time has passed, while setInterval is used to execute a function repeatedly at specified time intervals.

It's worth noting that when using setInterval, the next interval will always be scheduled, regardless of whether the previous one has completed. This can lead to a build-up of queued events if the interval used is shorter than the time it takes for the function to fully execute. To avoid this, using setTimeout and scheduling each subsequent interval within the function itself can be a more reliable solution.