#include <sys/time.h>

/* function to get time in milliseconds since "epoch" */
/* uses Linux library function gettimeofday, so may not be portable */
int get_time() {
    struct timeval tv;
    struct timezone tz;
    if (gettimeofday(&tv, &tz) == 0) 
        return tv.tv_sec * 1000 + (tv.tv_usec + 500) / 1000;
    else
        return 0.0;
}