Search
Search internet.com
News Reviews Insights Tutorials WiMax VoIP HotSpots Forums Events Products Glossary About



Subscribe Now!
Wi-FiPlanet.com's
Weekly Newsletter
html * text
More Free Newsletters


Wi-Fi Glossary
Find a Wi-Fi Term


Wi-Fi® is a registered certification mark of the Wi-Fi Alliance


Find a Wi-Fi Hotspot
by city
by State


internet.com
Personal Technology channel
CPU Planet
Palm Boulevard
PDAStreet
PocketPCcity
PocketPCWire
Psion Place
RIM Road
SharkyExtreme.com
SmartPhoneToday
Wi-FiHotSpotList.com
Events


internet.commerce
Be a Commerce Partner










 
 
 
 


internet.com
IT
Developer
Internet News
Small Business
Personal Technology
International

Search internet.com
Advertise
Corporate Info
Newsletters
Tech Jobs
E-mail Offers

background
Last modified: Friday, March 19, 2004 


(n.) (1) Multitasking computers are capable of executing several tasks, or programs, at the same time. In some multitasking systems, one of the processes is called the foreground process , and the others are called background processes.

The foreground process is the one that accepts input from the keyboard, mouse, or other input device. Background processes cannot accept interactive input from a user, but they can access data stored on a disk and write data to the video display. For example, some word processors print files in the background, enabling you to continue editing while files are being printed. This is called print spooling . In addition, many communications programs are designed to run in the background. Background processes generally have a lower priority than foreground processes so that they do not interfere with interactive applications.

Even though DOS is not a multitasking operating system, it can perform some specialized tasks, such as printing, in the background. Operating environments, such as Microsoft Windows and the Macintosh operating system, provide a more general multitasking environment.

(2) The area of a display screen not covered by characters and graphics. The background is like a canvas on top of which characters and graphics are placed. Some monitors allow you to control the color or shading of the background.

  Related Links

Web page background FAQ 
The background FAQ provides answers to commonly asked questions about background colors for Web pages. Some of the sections include: browser support for backgrounds, attributes and parameters, style sheets, effects, how to converting colors to hexadecimal, and links to Web sites with background information and samples.


>> Wi-Fi Planet Marketplace
Related Categories
Graphics

Operating Systems

Procedures, Functions and Routines

Related Terms
foreground

multitasking

NTP

shop.internet.com Products

Hagen Rock Terrarium Background Rock Terrarium Background 12 X 12
2 Offers From $5.95 To $6.69


Hagen Rock Terrarium Background Rock Terrarium Background 12 X 18
2 Offers From $7.65 To $8.19


Hagen 18" Rock Background
2 Offers From $53 To $58





Pets
 

More shop.internet.com Deals
Shopping
background Products
Compare Products,Prices and Stores

Shop by Category:
Pets
9 Store Offers

Office Supplies
59 Store Offers

Sport and Outdoor
1989 Store Offers

Photography Accessories
84 Store Offers

Watches
212 Store Offers

internet.comearthweb.comDevx.commediabistro.comGraphics.com

Search:

Jupitermedia Corporation has two divisions: Jupiterimages and JupiterOnlineMedia

Jupitermedia Corporate Info

Legal Notices, Licensing, Reprints, Permissions, Privacy Policy.
Advertise | Newsletters | Tech Jobs | Shopping | E-mail Offers

Whitepapers and eBooks

Intel Whitepaper: Comparing Two- and Four-Socket Platforms for Server Virtualization
IBM Solutions Brief: Go Green With IBM System xTM And Intel
HP eBook: Simplifying SQL Server Management
IBM Contest: Are You the Next Superstar? Join the "Search for the XML Superstar" Contest to Find Out
Microsoft PDF: Top 10 Reasons to Move to Server Virtualization with Hyper-V
Microsoft PDF: Six Reasons Why Microsoft's Hyper-V Will Overtake Vmware
Microsoft Step-by-Step Guide: Hyper-V and Failover Clustering
Intel PDF: Quad-Core Impacts More Than the Data Center
Intel PDF: Virtualization Delivers Data Center Efficiency
Go Parallel Article: PDC 2008 in Review
Microsoft PDF: Top 11 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008
Avaya Article: Communication-Enabled Mashups: Empowering Both Business Owners and IT
Intel Whitepaper: Building a Real-World Model to Assess Virtualization Platforms
  PDF: Intel Centrino Duo Processor Technology with Intel Core2 Duo Processor
Microsoft Article: Build and Run Virtual Machines with Hyper-V Server 2008
Go Parallel Article: Q&A with a TBB Junkie
IBM Whitepaper: Innovative Collaboration to Advance Your Business
Internet.com eBook: Real Life Rails
IBM eBook: The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing
Internet.com eBook: Best Practices for Developing a Web Site
IBM CXO Whitepaper: The 2008 Global CEO Study "The Enterprise of the Future"
Avaya Article: Call Control XML in Action - A CCXML Auto Attendant
IBM CXO Whitepaper: Unlocking the DNA of the Adaptable Workforce--The Global Human Capital Study 2008
Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro: Web Conferencing and eLearning Whitepapers
HP eBook: Guide to Storage Networking
MORE WHITEPAPERS, EBOOKS, AND ARTICLES