In computer science and software engineering, busy-waiting, busy-looping or spinning is a technique in which a process repeatedly checks to see if a condition is true, such as whether keyboard input or a lock is available. Spinning can also be used to generate an arbitrary time delay, a technique that was necessary on systems that lacked a method of waiting a specific length of time. Processor speeds vary greatly from computer to computer, especially as some processors are designed to dynamically adjust speed based on current workload.[1] Consequently, spinning as a time-delay technique can produce unpredictable or even inconsistent results on different systems unless code is included to determine the time a processor takes to execute a "do nothing" loop, or the looping code explicitly checks a real-time clock.
In most cases spinning is considered an anti-pattern and should be avoided,[2] as processor time that could be used to execute a different task is instead wasted on useless activity. Spinning can be a valid strategy in certain circumstances, most notably in the implementation of spinlocks within operating systems designed to run on SMP systems.
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In computer science and software engineering, busy-waiting, busy-looping or spinning is a technique in which a process repeatedly checks to see if a condition...
The busy signal has become less common in the past few decades due to the prevalence of call waiting and voicemail. An otherwise unspecified busy signal...
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system. A more elegant method for achieving mutual exclusion is the busy-wait. Busy-waiting is effective for both uniprocessor and multiprocessor systems....
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functions. These functions are needed by some drivers to wait for hardware. Note that a busywaiting technique is used, so the kernel is effectively blocked...
is similar but different from above. An implementation might involve busywaiting for CS to fall or triggering an interrupt routine when CS falls, and...
had to wait for each I/O to finish. Instead, a computer may implement interrupts for I/O completion, avoiding the need for polling or busywaiting. Some...
CPU time for itself, either by performing extensive calculations or by busywaiting; both would cause the whole system to hang. In a server environment,...
application is busy performing an operation. It can be accompanied by an arrow if the operation is being performed in the background. The wait cursor can...
program, but needed to wait two years to leave. The popularity of the program resulted in a long waiting list that often made Cubans wait and suffer in humiliation...
especially useful for services without call waiting. Much like long distance calling before the late 1990s, busy line interrupt is a service provided, for...
indicate that an application is busy. Officially, the macOS Human Interface Guidelines refer to it as the spinning wait cursor, but it is also known by...
film, as he had told Kubrick to use her as a go-between when he was busywaiting tables at Sunrise Manor. When on the phone with her, she suggested using...
two or more instances may also lead to contention, and subsequently busywaiting for the process without the lock. To reduce contention for table blocks...
Reject call waiting – This will send the call to voice mail or a busy tone. Type II Caller ID also works with call waiting. Since the waiting call uses...
CPU time for itself, either by performing extensive calculations or by busywaiting; both would cause the whole system to hang. In a server environment,...
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