How $timeout works in angularJs? [duplicate]

$timeout run a function after a defined delay :

$timeout(yourFunction, yourDelayInMS) 

For sample display an alert after one second:

$timeout(function(){alert('hello'},1000);

The difference between $timeout against setTimeout is $timeout is a part of the digest cycle of angularjs. if you modify the scope in your code it's better to use $timout instead of setTimeout.

for example if you use setTimeout in your link function the $scope variables won't change. Instead you need to do something like that

window.setTimeout(function() {
  scope.$apply(function() {
    scope.myVar = "I changed"
  })
},1000);

$timeout just wraps that for you.