Busy-wait

2 definitions found

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  busy-wait vi. Used of human behavior, conveys that the subject is busy
     waiting for someone or something, intends to move instantly as soon as
     it shows up, and thus cannot do anything else at the moment. "Can't talk
     now, I'm busy-waiting till Bill gets off the phone."
  
     Technically, `busy-wait' means to wait on an event by {spin}ning


     through a tight or timed-delay loop that polls for the event on each
     pass, as opposed to setting up an interrupt handler and continuing
     execution on another part of the task. In applications this is a
     wasteful technique, and best avoided on time-sharing systems where a
     busy-waiting program may {hog} the processor. However, it is often
     unavoidable in kernel programming. In the Linux world, kernel busy-waits
     are usually referred to as `spinlocks'.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  busy-wait
       
           To wait for an {event} by {spinning} through a
          {tight loop} or timed-delay loop that {polls} for the event on
          each pass, as opposed to setting up an {interrupt handler} and
          continuing execution on another part of the task.  This is a
          wasteful technique, best avoided on {time-sharing} systems
          where a busy-waiting program may {hog} the processor.
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
          (1999-06-10)