WaitEvent() in Blitz3D with userlibs

I'm trying to recreate the effect of WaitEvent() in Blitz3D. I don't really care about the possible events, I just want my program to be idle and not use my processor's power if I don't do anything.

I tried it using WaitForInputIdle from user32.dll, but that doesn't seem to work. Any suggestions? Think it can be done?

if it's really only the blitz app that you want to watch for events, you could do it with some kind of screensaver mode.

example:

...
old_mx=mx
old_my=my
mx=mousex()
my=mousey()
k=0
for i=1 to 255
 if keydown(i) then 
 k=1
 exit
next
if (k<>0) or (mx<>old_mx) or (my<>old_my)
 lastuseraction=millisecs()
endif

if millisecs()>(lastuseraction-1000) then
 delay 100
endif
...

It will not be completely idle, but it will kind of slumber as soon as the user doesn't interact for a second. I guess the CPU usage will drop to about 5%.

If you want to use real WaitEvent System Calls, take a look at the BlitzWin3D Include Files.

Thanks jfk, your screensaver idea is an interesting tip, even though it's not really what I need for my current project.

I checked out BlitzWin3D, but the WaitEvent() function only returns an event. It doesn't wait in idle mode, so CPU usage is still high.


EDIT: I just put your screensaver method in my program, and it works better than I thought. The switching between "screensaver" mode (10 fps) and normal mode (50 fps) goes very fast and smooth. Excellent alternative for idle mode!

BTW you may also use a special loop for the "slumber mode", that only checks for user action and won't update the screen, this way you'll reduce the cpu usage even more.

Oh man! That's kind of daft, that I didn't think of that myself.

This is basicly what I had:

*Check for input*
If MilliSecs() - lastInteraction > 2000 Then
	Delay 100
EndIf
*Draw stuff*

And I didn't even think of adding a simple 'Else':

*Check for input*
If MilliSecs() - lastInteraction > 2000 Then
	Delay 100
Else
	*Draw stuff*
EndIf

Hehe, oh well, thanks again jfk. Task Manager now says my program takes 0% CPU power. :D


EDIT: As a matter of fact, if I remove the 'Delay 100' it still runs at 0% CPU. So I'm going to just let my program check for input at 50 fps and only draw when the user does something. Seems kind of obvious now.