:jiffy: n. 1. The duration of one tick of the system clock on the
computer (see {tick}). Often one AC cycle time (1/60 second in
the U.S. and Canada, 1/50 most other places), but more recently
1/100 sec has become common. "The swapper runs every 6 jiffies"
means that the virtual memory management routine is executed once
for every 6 ticks of the clock, or about ten times a second.
2. Confusingly, the term is sometimes also used for a 1-millisecond
{wall time} interval. Even more confusingly, physicists
semi-jokingly use `jiffy' to mean the time required for light to
travel one foot in a vacuum, which turns out to be close to one
*nanosecond*. 3. Indeterminate time from a few seconds to
forever. "I'll do it in a jiffy" means certainly not now and
possibly never. This is a bit contrary to the more widespread use
of the word. Oppose {nano}. See also {Real Soon Now}.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
computer (see {tick}). Often one AC cycle time (1/60 second in
the U.S. and Canada, 1/50 most other places), but more recently
1/100 sec has become common. "The swapper runs every 6 jiffies"
means that the virtual memory management routine is executed once
for every 6 ticks of the clock, or about ten times a second.
2. Confusingly, the term is sometimes also used for a 1-millisecond
{wall time} interval. Even more confusingly, physicists
semi-jokingly use `jiffy' to mean the time required for light to
travel one foot in a vacuum, which turns out to be close to one
*nanosecond*. 3. Indeterminate time from a few seconds to
forever. "I'll do it in a jiffy" means certainly not now and
possibly never. This is a bit contrary to the more widespread use
of the word. Oppose {nano}. See also {Real Soon Now}.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
Related:
- jiffy: n. 1. The duration of one tick of the system clock on the
computer (see {tick}).
Often one AC cycle time (1/60 second in the U.... - wall time: n. (also `wall clock time') 1. `Real world' time (what
the clock on the wall shows), as opposed to the system clock's idea
of time.
2. The real running time of a program, as opposed to the number of {tick}s required to execute it (on a timesharing system these always differ, as no one program gets all the ticks, and on multiprocessor systems with good thread support one may get more processor time than real time).... - quantifiers
In techspeak and jargon, the standard metric
prefixes used in the SI (Systè
me International) conventions for scientific measurement have dual uses.... - ano: /nan'oh/ [CMU: from `nanosecond'] n. A brief period of
time.
Be with you in a nano" means you really will be free shortly, i.... - epoch: [UNIX: prob. from astronomical timekeeping] n.
The time and date corresponding to 0 in an operating system's clock and timestamp values.... - wall time n.
(also `wall clock time') 1. `Real world'
time (what the clock on the wall shows), as opposed to the system
clock's idea of time.
2. The real running time of a program, as opposed to the number of ticks required to execute it (on a timesharing system these always differ, as no one program gets all the ticks, and on multiprocessor systems with good thread support one may get more processor time than real time).... - cycle: 1. n. The basic unit of computation. What every hacker
wants more of (noted hacker Bill Gosper describes himself as a
"cycle junkie").
One can describe an instruction as taking so many `clock cycles'.... - moby /moh'bee/
[MIT: seems to have been in use among
model railroad fans years ago.
Derived from Melville's "Moby Dick" (some say from `Moby Pickle').... - cycle
1. n. The basic unit of computation. What every
hacker wants more of (noted hacker Bill Gosper described himself as
a "cycle junkie").
One can describe an instruction as taking so many `clock cycles'....
