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In telecommunications and related engineering (including computer networking and programming), the term timeout or time-out has several meanings, including: * A network parameter related to an enforced

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

designed to occur at the conclusion of a predetermined elapsed time. * A specified period of time that will be allowed to elapse in a

system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...

before a specified event is to take place, unless another specified event occurs first; in either case, the period is terminated when either event takes place. Note: A timeout condition can be canceled by the receipt of an appropriate time-out cancellation signal. * An event that occurs at the end of a predetermined period of time that began at the occurrence of another specified event. The timeout can be prevented by an appropriate signal. Timeouts allow for more efficient usage of limited resources without requiring additional interaction from the agent interested in the goods that cause the consumption of these resources. The basic idea is that in situations where a system must wait for something to happen, rather than waiting indefinitely, the waiting will be aborted after the timeout period has elapsed. This is based on the assumption that further waiting is useless, and some other action is necessary.

Examples

Specific examples include: * In the

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

and

ReactOS ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system for amd64/i686 personal computers intended to be binary-compatible with computer programs and device drivers made for Windows Server 2003 and later versions of Windows. ReactOS has been noted a ...

command-line interface A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...

s, the timeout command pauses the command processor for the specified number of seconds. * In

POP Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

connections, the server will usually close a client connection after a certain period of inactivity (the timeout period). This ensures that connections do not persist forever, if the client crashes or the network goes down. Open connections consume resources, and may prevent other clients from accessing the same mailbox. * In

HTTP persistent connections HTTP persistent connection, also called HTTP keep-alive, or HTTP connection reuse, is the idea of using a single TCP connection to send and receive multiple HTTP requests/responses, as opposed to opening a new connection for every single request ...

, the web server saves opened connections (which consume CPU time and memory). The web client does not have to send an "end of requests series" signal. Connections are closed (timed out) after five minutes of inactivity; this ensures that the connections do not persist indefinitely. * In a timed light switch, both energy and lamp's life-span are saved. The user does not have to switch off manually. * Tablet computers and smartphones commonly turn off their backlight after a certain time without user input.

Examples

See also

References

Further reading