2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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background
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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n.,adj.,vt. [common] To do a task in background is to do it whenever
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foreground matters are not claiming your undivided attention, and to
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background something means to relegate it to a lower priority. For now,
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we'll just print a list of nodes and links; I'm working on the
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graph-printing problem in background. Note that this implies ongoing
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activity but at a reduced level or in spare time, in contrast to mainstream
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back burner (which connotes benign neglect until some future resumption of
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activity). Some people prefer to use the term for processing that they have
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queued up for their unconscious minds (a tack that one can often fruitfully
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take upon encountering an obstacle in creative work). Compare amp off ,
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slopsucker. Technically, a task running in background is detached from the
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terminal where it was started (and often running at a lower priority);
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oppose foreground. Nowadays this term is primarily associated with Unix ,
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but it appears to have been first used in this sense on OS/360.
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