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multitasking

mul·ti·task
M m

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [muhl-tee-task, -tahsk, muhl-tahy-]
    • /ˈmʌl tiˌtæsk, -ˌtɑsk, ˈmʌl taɪ-/
    • /ˌmʌl.tiˈtɑːs.kɪŋ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [muhl-tee-task, -tahsk, muhl-tahy-]
    • /ˈmʌl tiˌtæsk, -ˌtɑsk, ˈmʌl taɪ-/

Definitions of multitasking word

  • verb without object multitasking Computers. (of a single CPU) to execute two or more jobs concurrently. 1
  • verb without object multitasking (of one person) to perform two or more tasks simultaneously. 1
  • noun multitasking The simultaneous execution of more than one program or task by a single computer processor. 1
  • noun multitasking running several computer programs at once 1
  • noun multitasking doing several things at once 1
  • noun Definition of multitasking in Technology (computer, parallel)   (Or "multi-tasking", "multiprogramming", "concurrent processing", "concurrency", "process scheduling") A technique used in an operating system for sharing a single processor between several independent jobs. The first multitasking operating systems were designed in the early 1960s. Under "cooperative multitasking" the running task decides when to give up the CPU and under "pre-emptive multitasking" (probably more common) a system process called the "scheduler" suspends the currently running task after it has run for a fixed period known as a "time-slice". In both cases the scheduler is responsible for selecting the next task to run and (re)starting it. The running task may relinquish control voluntarily even in a pre-emptive system if it is waiting for some external event. In either system a task may be suspended prematurely if a hardware interrupt occurs, especially if a higher priority task was waiting for this event and has therefore become runnable. The scheduling algorithm used by the scheduler determines which task will run next. Some common examples are round-robin scheduling, priority scheduling, shortest job first and guaranteed scheduling. Multitasking introduces overheads because the processor spends some time in choosing the next job to run and in saving and restoring tasks' state, but it reduces the worst-case time from job submission to completion compared with a simple batch system where each job must finish before the next one starts. Multitasking also means that while one task is waiting for some external event, the CPU to do useful work on other tasks. A multitasking operating system should provide some degree of protection of one task from another to prevent tasks from interacting in unexpected ways such as accidentally modifying the contents of each other's memory areas. The jobs in a multitasking system may belong to one or many users. This is distinct from parallel processing where one user runs several tasks on several processors. Time-sharing is almost synonymous but implies that there is more than one user. 1
See all 9 definitions of multitasking

Information block about the term

Origin of multitasking

First appearance:

before 1960
One of the 3% newest English words
First recorded in 1960-65; multi-+ task

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Multitasking

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Multitasking

multitasking popularity

This term is known only to a narrow circle of people with rare knowledge. Only 7% of English native speakers know the meaning of this word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

multitasking usage trend in Literature

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Related words

  • unix

    (operating system)   /yoo'niks/ (Or "UNIX", in the authors' words, "A weak pun on Multics") Plural "Unices". An interactive time-sharing operating system invented in 1969 by Ken Thompson after Bell Labs left the Multics project, originally so he could play games on his scavenged PDP-7. Dennis Ritchie, the inventor of C, is considered a co-author of the system. The turning point in Unix's history came when it was reimplemented almost entirely in C during 1972 - 1974, making it the first source-portable OS. Unix subsequently underwent mutations and expansions at the hands of many different people, resulting in a uniquely flexible and developer-friendly environment. By 1991, Unix had become the most widely used multi-user general-purpose operating system in the world. Many people consider this the most important victory yet of hackerdom over industry opposition (but see Unix weenie and Unix conspiracy for an opposing point of view). Unix is now offered by many manufacturers and is the subject of an international standardisation effort [called?]. Unix-like operating systems include AIX, A/UX, BSD, Debian, FreeBSD, GNU, HP-UX, Linux, NetBSD, NEXTSTEP, OpenBSD, OPENSTEP, OSF, POSIX, RISCiX, Solaris, SunOS, System V, Ultrix, USG Unix, Version 7, Xenix. "Unix" or "UNIX"? Both seem roughly equally popular, perhaps with a historical bias toward the latter. "UNIX" is a registered trademark of The Open Group, however, since it is a name and not an acronym, "Unix" has been adopted in this dictionary except where a larger name includes it in upper case. Since the OS is case-sensitive and exists in many different versions, it is fitting that its name should reflect this.
All related words to multitasking

See also

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