Task (computing)
In computing, a task is a unit of execution. In some operating systems, a task is synonymous with a process, and in others with a thread. In batch processing computer systems, a task is a unit of execution within a job.[1][2]
History
The term task for a part of a job dates to multiprogramming in the early 1960s, as in this example from 1961:
The serial model has the ability to process tasks of one job in an independent manner similar to the functioning of the IBM 709.[3]
The term was popularized with the introduction of OS/360 (announced 1964), which featured Multiprogramming with a Fixed number of Tasks (MFT) and Multiprogramming with a Variable number of Tasks (MVT). In this case tasks were identified with processes, a job consisted of a number of tasks, and, later, tasks could have sub-tasks (in modern terminology, child processes).
See also
References
- ^ "What is task? - Definition from WhatIs.com". WhatIs.com. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ^ "What are computer processes?". liutilities.com. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ^ James Larrimore McKenney (1961). Simultaneous multiprogramming of electronic computers. p. of one job%22 154.
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