<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)
Nearby terms:
bus network « Busy Beaver « busy-loop « busy-wait » Butterfly Common LISP » Butterfly Scheme » button
