# Date as EventTarget

**URL:** <https://es.discourse.group/t/date-as-eventtarget/220>\
**Category:** 💡 Ideas\
**Created:** [February 14, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://es.discourse.group/t/date-as-eventtarget/220 "2020-02-14T11:53:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![WebReflection](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/es.discourse.group/webreflection/32/248_2.png) [@WebReflection](https://es.discourse.group/u/WebReflection)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://es.discourse.group/t/date-as-eventtarget/220/1 "2020-02-14T11:53:11Z")

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As everyone once in their life has used `setInterval`, `setTimeout`, or even worse `requestAnimationFrame` to show any timer on any screen, I wonder if we could add the `EventTarget` interface to the `Date` prototype, so that the following listeners could be added/removed/dispatched.

- `second`, to be notified whenever the timer ticks a new second
- `minute`, to be notified whenever the timer ticks a new minute
- `hour`, to be notified whenever the timer ticks a new hour
- `day`, to be notified whenever the timer ticks a new day
- `month`, to be notified whenever the timer ticks a new month
- `year`, to be notified whenever the timer ticks a new year

For the time being, I am leaving `milliseconds` out of the equation, as I think `rAF` would work same way, and I see it too greedy for any need.

The culprit is that as soon as any event is added via `date.addEventListener(type, handler)` the environment schedules a timer that triggers at required intervals, and drop it once removed.

I understand mixing WHATWG specs with TC39 might not be immediate/straightforward, but I think the whole JS community would benefit for most common time related tasks.

Best Regards

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![WebReflection](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/es.discourse.group/webreflection/32/248_2.png) [@WebReflection](https://es.discourse.group/u/WebReflection)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://es.discourse.group/t/date-as-eventtarget/220/2 "2020-02-14T12:57:38Z")

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As alternative proposal, if that makes in any easier, a `Timer` global with a `setInterval` that accepts a callback and an optional string would work too, imho.

```javascript
const eachSecond = Timer.setInterval(fn, 'second');
Timer.clearInterval(eachSecond);

```

The namespace `Timer` could be handy for future addictions, but a global `scheduleInterval` with a counter `clearSchedule` would work too, the whole idea here is to have _any_ way to be notified per each second, minute, hour, day, month, or year, which is something not immediate with the current primitives.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![WebReflection](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/es.discourse.group/webreflection/32/248_2.png) [@WebReflection](https://es.discourse.group/u/WebReflection)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 10:39am UTC](https://es.discourse.group/t/date-as-eventtarget/220/3 "2020-02-15T10:39:12Z")

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Meanwhile, the `clock-scheduler` module landed as playground for timers pinned to the clock.

> **[WebReflection/clock-scheduler](https://github.com/WebReflection/clock-scheduler#readme)**
>
> Same as setTimeout and setInterval but pinned to the clock - WebReflection/clock-scheduler

Same `setTimeout` and `setInterval` API, but the delay could be either milliseconds, on `second`, `hour`, `minute`, `day`, `month`, `year`, and milliseconds in these cases are always calculated as diff from now to the next clock tick.