In
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...
timestamping refers to the use of an electronic
timestamp
A timestamp is a sequence of characters or encoded information identifying when a certain event occurred, usually giving date and time of day, sometimes accurate to a small fraction of a second. Timestamps do not have to be based on some absolut ...
to provide a temporal order among a set of events.
Timestamping techniques are used in a variety of computing fields, from
network management
Network management is the process of administering and managing computer networks. Services provided by this discipline include fault analysis, performance management, provisioning of networks and maintaining quality of service. Network managem ...
and
computer security
Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...
to
concurrency control
In information technology and computer science, especially in the fields of computer programming, operating systems, multiprocessors, and databases, concurrency control ensures that correct results for concurrent operations are generated, while ...
.
[''Computer aided verification: 13th International conference'', by Gérard Berry, Hubert Comon, A. Finkel 2001 page 423] For instance, a
heartbeat network In computer science, a heartbeat is a periodic signal generated by hardware or software to indicate normal operation or to synchronize other parts of a computer system. Heartbeat mechanism is one of the common techniques in mission critical syste ...
uses timestamping to monitor the nodes on a high availability
computer cluster
A computer cluster is a set of computers that work together so that they can be viewed as a single system. Unlike grid computers, computer clusters have each node set to perform the same task, controlled and scheduled by software.
The comp ...
.
[''Theoretical Aspects of Distributed Computing in Sensor Networks'' by Sotiris Nikoletseas and José D.P. Rolim 2011 page 304 ]
Timestamping computer files (updating
the timestamp in the per-file
metadata every time a file is modified) makes it possible to use efficient
build automation tools.
See also
*
Trusted timestamping
Trusted timestamping is the process of securely keeping track of the creation and modification time of a document. Security here means that no one—not even the owner of the document—should be able to change it once it has been recorded provide ...
*
Timestamp-based concurrency control In computer science, a timestamp-based concurrency control algorithm is a non-lock concurrency control method. It is used in some databases to safely handle transactions, using timestamps.
Operation
Assumptions
* Every timestamp value is unique an ...
References
{{Reflist
Computer network security
Concurrency control
Transaction processing