An abnormal end or abend is an abnormal termination of
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
, or a
program crash
In computing, a crash, or system crash, occurs when a computer program such as a software application or an operating system stops functioning properly and exits. On some operating systems or individual applications, a crash reporting servic ...
.
This usage derives from an error message from the
IBM OS/360
OS/360, officially known as IBM System/360 Operating System, is a discontinued batch processing operating system developed by IBM for their then-new System/360 mainframe computer, announced in 1964; it was influenced by the earlier IBSYS/IBJOB ...
, IBM zOS operating systems. Usually capitalized, but may appear as "abend". Some common ABEND codes are ABEND 0C7 (data exception) and ABEND 0CB (
division by zero
In mathematics, division by zero is division (mathematics), division where the divisor (denominator) is 0, zero. Such a division can be formally expression (mathematics), expressed as \tfrac, where is the dividend (numerator). In ordinary ari ...
).
[List of ABEND codes](_blank)
on madisoncollege.edu Abends can be "soft" (allowing automatic recovery) or "hard" (terminating the activity).
[ page 352]
Errors or crashes on the
Novell
Novell, Inc. was an American software and services company headquartered in Provo, Utah, that existed from 1980 until 2014. Its most significant product was the multi-platform network operating system known as Novell NetWare.
Under the lead ...
NetWare
NetWare is a discontinued computer network operating system developed by Novell, Inc. It initially used cooperative multitasking to run various services on a personal computer, using the IPX network protocol.
The original NetWare product in 19 ...
network operating system are usually called ABENDs. Communities of NetWare administrators sprung up around the Internet, such a
abend.org
The term is jocularly claimed to be derived from the German word "
abend" meaning "evening".
["Abend"](_blank)
on dictionary.die.net
See also
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Abort
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Exit status
The exit status of a process in computer programming is a small number passed from a child process (or callee) to a parent process (or caller) when it has finished executing a specific procedure or delegated task. In DOS, this may be referred ...
*
Fatal exception error
In computing, a fatal exception error or fatal error is an error that causes a program to abort and may therefore return the user to the operating system. When this happens, data that the program was processing may be lost. A fatal error is usual ...
References
Further reading
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Computer errors
Software anomalies
IBM mainframe operating systems
Computing terminology
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