An exponentially time-decaying counter

The class below implements an exponentially time-decaying counter. The rate of the decay is defined by it's half-life, which is specified in seconds.

/**
* An exponentially time-decaying counter.
* @author Christian d'Heureuse, Inventec Informatik AG, Zurich, Switzerland, www.source-code.biz
**/
public class DecayingCounter {

private double               value;
private long                 time;
private final double         tau;

/**
* Creates a new decaying counter with an initial value of 0.
* @param halfLife
*    half-life in seconds.
**/
public DecayingCounter (double halfLife) {
   this(halfLife, 0.0); }

/**
* Creates a new decaying counter.
* @param halfLife
*    half-life in seconds.
* @param initialValue
*    initial value of the counter.
**/
public DecayingCounter (double halfLife, double initialValue) {
   tau = halfLife / Math.log(2.0);
   set(initialValue); }

/**
* Sets the counter to a new value.
**/
public void set (double newValue) {
   value = newValue;
   time = System.nanoTime(); }

/**
* Returns the current counter value.
**/
public double get() {
   update();
   return value; }

/**
* Increments the counter by 1 and returns the new value.
**/
public double increment() {
   update();
   value += 1.0;
   return value; }

private void update() {
   long newTime = System.nanoTime();
   long deltaTime = newTime - time;
   if (deltaTime > 0)
      value *= Math.exp(deltaTime * -1E-9 / tau);
   time = newTime; }

} // end class DecayingCounter

// A simple test program for the DecayingCounter class.

public class TestDecayingCounter {

public static void main (String[] args) throws Exception {
   DecayingCounter counter = new DecayingCounter(2.0, 8.0);
      // Half-life 2 seconds, initial value 8.
   int ctr2 = 12;                                // first increment after 6 seconds
   while (true) {
      System.out.println(counter.get());
      Thread.sleep(500);                         // wait for half a second
      if (ctr2-- <= 0) {
         System.out.println ("--- increment ---");
         counter.increment();
         ctr2 = 6; }}}                           // next increment after 3 seconds

} // end class TestDeayingCounter

Author: Christian d'Heureuse (www.source-code.biz, www.inventec.ch/chdh)
License: Free
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