Example for running a timed function call in Golang without leaking the goroutine

golang_timer_example.go

package main

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"log"
	"time"
)

func runTimed(tick time.Duration, f func()) context.CancelFunc {
	ctx, cancelFunc := context.WithCancel(context.Background())

	go func() {
		timer := time.NewTimer(time.Second * 1)
		defer func() {
			if !timer.Stop() {
				<-timer.C
			}
		}()

		for {
			timer.Reset(tick)

			select {
			case <-timer.C:
				f()
			case <-ctx.Done():
				return
			}
		}
	}()

	return cancelFunc
}

func main() {
	log.Println("running timed function")

	cancel := runTimed(time.Second, func() {
		fmt.Println("Hello, playground")
	})

	time.Sleep(time.Second * 5)
	log.Println("stopping timer...")

	cancel()

	time.Sleep(time.Second * 2)
	log.Println("stopped")
}