Threading & Time (std.thread, std.time)

Core standard library modules for concurrent execution and timestamp tracking. In Flame, code executes at the top level without needing a wrapper main function.

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Time Tracking (std.time)

Retrieve accurate system epoch timestamps in seconds or milliseconds:

import std.time

// Get current UNIX timestamp in seconds
let secs = time.now().toSeconds()
println($"Current Seconds: {secs}")

// Get current high-resolution UNIX timestamp object
let now = time.now()
println($"Timestamp in Milliseconds: {now.toMillis()}")

// Parse an RFC3339 or RFC2822 date string into a Timestamp
let parsed = time.parse("2026-08-10T08:00:00Z")
println($"Parsed Timestamp Millis: {parsed.toMillis()}")

Timestamp Manipulation

Since timestamps are returned as Timestamp objects in Flame, you can easily access milliseconds or string representations.

import std.time

let now = time.now()

// Extract components
println($"Millis: {now.toMillis()}")
println($"Seconds: {now.toSeconds()}")
println($"String: {now.toString()}")

Concurrency & Channels (std.thread)

Manage thread execution, sleep durations, and pass messages cleanly across concurrent threads using channels:

import std.thread

// Display the current OS thread identifier
println($"Active thread ID: {thread.id()}")

// Pause execution of the current thread for 200 milliseconds
thread.sleep(200)

// Yield execution time back to the operating system scheduler
thread.yield()

// Create an asynchronous communication channel
let (tx, rx) = thread.channel()

// Send and receive messages across thread channels
tx.send("Message across channel!")
let received = rx.recv()
println($"Received: {received}")

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API Summary Tables

Time (std.time)

Method	Arguments	Returns	Description
time.now	None	Timestamp	Returns the current UTC time as a Timestamp object.
time.parse	date_string: String	Timestamp	Parses an ISO-8601 or RFC-3339 string into a Timestamp.
time.fromMillis	milliseconds: Int	Timestamp	Creates a Timestamp from Unix epoch milliseconds.
time.fromSeconds	seconds: Int	Timestamp	Creates a Timestamp from Unix epoch seconds.
time.instant	None	Instant	Returns a monotonic point in time suitable for measuring elapsed durations.

Timestamp Methods (Timestamp)

The Timestamp object provides the following native methods:

Method	Arguments	Returns	Description
.toMillis()	None	Int	Returns the UNIX epoch milliseconds.
.toSeconds()	None	Int	Returns the UNIX epoch seconds.
.toString()	None	String	Returns the human readable UTC date time string.

Threading (std.thread)

Method	Arguments	Returns	Description
thread.sleep	ms: Int	Nil	Suspends thread execution for the specified number of milliseconds.
thread.id	None	String	Returns a formatted string representation of the active thread ID.
thread.yield	None	Nil	Yields the processor, allowing other threads on the OS to run.
thread.channel	None	Tuple<Sender, Receiver>	Creates a multi-producer, single-consumer communication channel.
thread.spawn	callback: Function	ThreadHandler	Spawns a background concurrent execution thread.