Is there a way to make a function run after a specified amount of time in Python without the after method?

Question

I am trying to create a simple program that tracks a user's clicks per second in Tkinter, but I have no idea how to make the program wait without freezing the program using the after method. The problem is that I need to log the high score after the time finishes, but using this method, the score logs before the click counter goes up. Here is my code:

from tkinter import *
import time
root = Tk()
root.geometry('600x410')
screen = Canvas(root)
h = 6 #button height
w = 12 #button width
c = 0 #counts amount of times clicked
start_btn = 0 #logs clicks of the start button
high_score = 0 #logs the highest score
time = 0

def count_hs():
    high_score = c
def remove_time():
    global time
    time -= 1
def countdown(n):
    for i in range(n):
        time = n
        root.after(1000, remove_time())
        #alternatively i tried this:
        #time.sleep(1)
        #remove_time()
        if time <= 0:
            b["text"] = "Test done."
            break

def start_test():
    global start_btn
    b["text"] = "Click to begin."
    start_btn += 1
    print("start button: " + str(start_btn))

def button_click():
    global start_btn
    global c
    c+=1
    print("click counter: " + str(c))
    #resets the amount of clicks on the large button when the start button is pressed
    if c >= 1 and start_btn >= 1:
        print("test1")
        c = 1
        start_btn = 0
        if b["text"] == "Click to begin.":
            print("test2")
            b["text"] = "Click!"
            countdown(6)
            count_hs()
            print("hs: " +str(high_score))
#primary button
b = Button(root, text=" ", font=("Arial", 40), height = h, width = w, command = lambda: button_click())
b.grid(row=0, column=0)
#start button
start = Button(root, text="Start.", command = lambda: start_test())
start.grid(row=0, column=1)

root.mainloop()

Answer 1

Give it a try

from tkinter import *

root = Tk()
root.geometry('600x410')
screen = Canvas(root)
h = 6  # button height
w = 12  # button width
c = 0  # counts amount of times clicked
start_btn = 0  # logs clicks of the start button
high_score = 0  # logs the highest score
time = 0


def count_hs():
    global high_score
    if c > high_score:
        high_score = c

    return high_score


def remove_time():
    global time
    time -= 1
    if time > 0:
        root.after(1000, remove_time)
    else:
        show_score()


def start_test():
    global start_btn
    global c
    global time
    b["text"] = "Click to begin."
    start_btn += 1
    print("start button: " + str(start_btn))

    # Reset your timer and counter
    time = 6
    c = 0


def button_click(*args):
    global start_btn
    global c
    # resets the amount of clicks on the large button when the start button is pressed
    if c == 0 and start_btn >= 1:
        start_btn = 0
        b["text"] = "Click!"
        root.after(1000, remove_time)
        print("hs: " + str(high_score))
    else:
        c += 1
    print("click counter: " + str(c))


def show_score():
    global c
    score_label.configure(text=str(c))
    high_score_label.configure(text=str(count_hs()))

    c = 0
    b['text'] = ""


# primary button
b = Button(root, text="", font=("Arial", 40), height=h, width=w, command=button_click)
b.grid(row=0, column=0, rowspan=5)

# start button
start = Button(root, text="Start.", command=lambda: start_test())
start.grid(row=0, column=1)
Label(root, text="Your score").grid(row=1, column=1)
score_label = Label(root, text="")
score_label.grid(row=2, column=1)
Label(root, text="High score").grid(row=3, column=1)
high_score_label = Label(root, text="")
high_score_label.grid(row=4, column=1)

root.mainloop()

Few changes:

• In count_hs I assume you would update the highscore only if current score beats it.
• You can use remove_time as a timer by making it calling itself until time <= 0, in which case you should end your game.
• I've used the start button as a resetter, so that when it is clicked it will reset c and time.
• On button_click you can now only bother with updating c (and change text at the beginning).
• Finally I've added few labels to show the final results, both current and high scores.

Few suggestions to move on:

• Instead of global variables you could create a class for the app, it should make it easier for you to exchange info and avoid subtle errors.
• You could improve the layout, especially for the newly added labels.
• You could make your original timer a parameter (currently, it is set within start_test).
• Instead of importing from tkinter import *, I'd suggest you to do something like import tkinter as tk or from tkinter import ... since it increases readability and reduces the sources of errors.