infinite loop

programming (Or "endless loop") Where a piece of program is

executed repeatedly with no hope of stopping. This is nearly

always because of a bug, e.g. if the condition for exiting

the loop is wrong, though it may be intentional if the program

is controlling an embedded system which is supposed to run

continuously until it is turned off. The programmer may also

intend the program to run until interrupted by the user. An

endless loop may also be used as a last-resort error handler

when no other action is appropriate. This is used in some

operating system kernels following a panic.

A program executing an infinite loop is said to spin or

buzz forever and goes catatonic. The program is "wound

around the axle".

A standard joke has been made about each generation's exemplar

of the ultra-fast machine: "The Cray-3 is so fast it can

execute an infinite loop in under 2 seconds!"

See also black hole, recursion, infinite loop.

[Jargon File]

(1996-05-11)