Online Computer Terms Dictionary - B

busy-wait

<programming> 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)