batch adj.
1. Non-interactive. Hackers use this somewhat more loosely
than the traditional technical definitions justify; in
particular, switches on a normally interactive program that
prepare it to receive non-interactive command input are often
referred to as `batch mode' switches. A `batch file' is a series
of instructions written to be handed to an interactive program
running in batch mode. 2. Performance of dreary tasks all at one
sitting. "I finally sat down in batch mode and wrote out checks
for all those bills; I guess they'll turn the electricity back on
next week..." 3. `batching up': Accumulation of a
number of small tasks that can be lumped together for greater
efficiency. "I'm batching up those letters to send sometime" "I'm
batching up bottles to take to the recycling center."
Node:bathtub curve, Next:baud, Previous:batch, Up:= B
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bathtub curve n.
Common term for the curve (resembling an end-to-end section of
one of those claw-footed antique bathtubs) that describes the
expected failure rate of electronics with time: initially high,
dropping to near 0 for most of the system's lifetime, then rising
again as it `tires out'. See also burn-in period, infant mortality.