Multitasking is a characteristic of Unix operating systems. A multitasking operating system can have several processes running concurrently. Click for more information.
The ability of an operating system to run more than one program, or task, concurrently. Today's multitasking Operating Systems (Windox XP/Unix) use a pre-emptive method to control resources. That is the OS itself directs which programs use which and how much of the available resources.
The process of switching from one operation to another quickly. This results in the appearance that several programs are running at the same time. The ratio between the widths of wide elements and narrow elements in a two-width symbology.
a programming method that runs multiple activities at the same time
The ability of a computer, operating system, or application to perform more than one task or operation at the same time. For example, a multitasking operating system might let you simultaneously use your computer system to download information from a remote computer with a modem, print out a word processing file, and sort a data base.
System that can run two or more programs at the same time. [Apple's Multifinder, AT&T's UNIX and IBM's OS/2 are multitasking operating systems. By contrast, MS-DOS is a single-tasking operating system.
The ability of a computer to run multiple applications at the same time.
When a computer can perform two or more tasks at the same time.
The ability of an operating system to execute several programs (tasks) at once.
The concurrent execution of multiple programs. Mac OS X uses preemptive multitasking. Mac OS 8 and 9 use cooperative multitasking.
Two or more program segments running in a computer at the same time.
The capability of an operating system to switch between tasks.
n. A mode of operation that provides for concurrent performance, or interleaved execution of two or more tasks.
This is the ability of an operating system to run two or more tasks at once. With one processor, you will not actually have more than 1 task using the processor at a given moment in time, but the tasks will be scheduled so that they can all appear to be running at the same time, and do not interfere with each other. A task can be a program (i.e. the Windows Calculator), or an instance of a program (opening the Windows Calculator multiple times).
The capability of a computer or operating system to appear to run more than one task at a time.
The ability to run several programs at once and easily switch among them.
what a mother of two toddlers does on a twenty-four hour basis. Also means running two or more programs simultaneously on a computer.
The concurrent execution of more than one program at a time.
The execution of commands in such a way that more than one command is in progress at the same time.
put together from the terms "multi" and "task." Originally, the term came from computer technology and described the ability of an operating system to run several programs at the same time. At the end of the twentieth century, this capability was expected not only from computers, but also from employees. During those days, employees of an IT firm were required to not only work on one project, but were also expected to quickly and flexibly divide their attention between several tasks. However, as the number of parallel tasks increased, it was observed that employees became less efficient and concentrated. Soon robots equipped with artificial intelligence were installed to assist employees.
The ability of a computer to handle more than two programmes at the same time.
System able to execute several processes at the same time.
the ability to do more than one task at a time. Since you can actually only do one thing at a time, it really means that the computer can have more than one program in memory at one time, but only one can be fully active. However, inactive programs can be processing data or doing other tasks in the background.
Doing more than one thing at a time. A true multitasking system requires two or more CPUs, each processing a different thread at the same time. Compare to cooperative multitasking and preemptive multitasking.
The capability of an operating system to run multiple processes (virtually) in parallel.
The capability of an operating system to execute two or more programs or program tasks concurrently for a single user.
Concurrent execution of several different programs by a single-user computer.
Operating two or more computer tasks at the same time, such as two software programs.
The ability to run more than one application simultaneously and to switch between these applications while they continue to run.
Running several applications at the same time.
able to support the processing of numerous programs and computations at the same time. Programs process concurrently and, thus, more quickly, permitting the easy sharing and movement of data, graphics, and text among windowed applications on the screen.
Executing more than one process on a single processor, usually achieved by timesharing under the control of the operating system.
A property of an operating system in which several processes can be run simultaneously.
The ability for the operating system to perform multiple operations at once. Windows NT Workstation is a multitasking operating system that can perform multiple I/O requests at once. SCSI and a Caching RAID coprocessor take advantage of multitasking.
The ability of a computer to have several programs open and running at the same time
A programming condition that runs multiple tasks at the same time.
Running more than one program simultaneously.
(1) (n.) Enabling more than one user to access the same program at the same time.(2) (adj.) Characteristic of the concurrent execution of two or more tasks by a computer.
The possibility of an operating system to efficiently manage more than one task at a time.
the ability for an operating system to share CPU time between several processes. At a low level, this is also known as multiprogramming. Switching from one process to another requires that all the current process context be saved and restored when this process runs again. This operation is called a context switch, and on Intel, is done 100 times per second, thereby making it fast enough so that a user has the illusion that the operating system runs several applications at the same time. There are two types of multitasking: in preemptive multitasking the operating system is responsible for taking away the CPU and passing it to another process; cooperative multitasking is where the process itself gives back the CPU. The first variant is obviously the better choice because no program can consume the entire CPU time and block other processes. GNU/Linux performs preemptive multitasking. The policy to select which process should be run, depending on several parameters, is called scheduling.
The cognitive function that allows people to do more than one thing at the same time. Some women affected by breast cancer experience difficulty with multitasking as a side effect of certain treatments.
Multitasking is a feature of operating systems which allows a user to load multiple applications programs into memory (RAM) at the same time and then switch between them (taskswitching).
Using several applications programs in a computer system or on several terminals in a network at the same time.
Running several programs at the same time.
See preemptive multitasking.
The ability of an operating system to do several tasks at one time.
The ability of an operating system to execute two or more processes simultaneously.
The ability to run more than one program at a time
Multitasking means that you are able to perform several tasks at the same time. In UMTS networks you are able to use MMS, WAP, PC dial-up or MIDP Java over GPRS during a voice call. So you can send an MMS while you are talking and the message is sent immediately during the voice call. Also you can continue using WAP or PC dial-up when you receive a voice call. The Nokia 6650 phone supports one PDP (Profile Data Protocol) context simultaneously. When you are operating in the GSM system and you receive a voice call during WAP or PC dial-up, the GPRS connection will be suspended (data transmission on hold). If you try to send an MMS during a voice call in the GSM system, the message will be queued in the Outbox and it will be sent when you end the voice call.
The ability to execute more than one task at the same time, a task being a program.
In a computer, a technique that allows several processes to appear to run simultaneously even though the computer has only one CPU. Multitasking is done by sequentially switching the CPU between the tasks, usually many times per second.
Allowing concurrent execution of more than one task or thread of control.
The ability to execute several parts of a program in parallel (or apparently in parallel).
A programming technique in which a program consists of several tasks that operate independently and often asynchronously. N-N-N
The ability of an operating system to decide which task is most important at any given time, when several applications may be loaded in a computer's memory simultaneously.
Executing many processes on a single processor. This is usually done by time-slicing the execution of individual processes and performing a context switch each time a process is swapped in or out, but is supported by special-purpose hardware in some computers. Most operating systems support multitasking, but it can be costly if the need to switch large caches or execution pipelines makes context switching expensive in time.
When a system can work on several jobs at the same time.
The ability to perform two or more tasks simultaneously. Operating software such as Windows works in conjunction with a computer's CPU to make this possible.
The ability to use more than one piece of software at the same time. In multitasking, only one CPU is involved, but it switches from one program to another so quickly that it gives the appearance of executing all of the programs at the same time.
Performing more than one task at the same time. Multitasking is a feature of some operating systems, such as UNIX.
An operating system feature that allows several programs to appear to be operating at the same time. Actually a scheduling program periodically switches between the two or more programs, giving each a measured portion of time (time slice) to use the CPU.
A mode of operation offered by an operating system in which a computer works on more than one task at a time.
The ability of an operating system to run more than one program simultaneously, allowing the user to easily switch and share information between applications.
The process of performing two computer tasks at the same time. For example, you might be printing a document from your word processor while checking your e-mail in Prodigy. One of the primary advantages of Windows is that it allows you to multitask.
a powerful feature of modern operating systems that allows processors to work on more than one application at a time to achieve faster, more efficient operation.
running more than one program at a time
When you are working on a Word document, then decide to browse the web without closing that Word document, you are multitasking. The ability to multitask is a function of your operating system. Operating systems capable of multitasking can jump from one task to another without losing information-to a point. Most of today's operating systems are capable of multitasking.
A mode of operation that provides for concurrent performance or interleaved processing of two or more tasks. Synonym for tasking.
A property of an operating system that allows several processes to be running simultaneously.
an MVS programming technique that provides for multiple control threads, called tasks, within an address space. Each task executes its own load module, with its own register contents, allocated memory, opened files, and so on.
An operating system performs multitasking when it runs more than one application simultaneously. See Preemtive Multitasking, Cooperative Multitasking, and Multithreading.
The processing of multiple tasks on a single-processor computer system in which each task is allowed to use the computer's central processor unit for a brief period of time. Although it seems like the multiple tasks are being processed simultaneously to the user, they are in fact being processed a little at a time one after the other, depending on their order of priority.
the concurrent execution of several jobs
The execution of multiple software routines in pseudoparallel. Each routine represents a separate thread of execution. The operating system is responsible for simulating parallelism by parceling out the processor's time to the individual threads. [ more
Running two or more computer programs simultaneously.
Operating system that allows a single user to work on two or more applications that reside in memory at the same time. 8.9
A Multitasking operating system is one that allows a PC to perform more than one task at a time.