Batch processing in the context of Software execution

In computing, execution is the process by which a computer program is processed to perform the actions that it encodes. As the processor follows the program instructions, effects are produced in accordance with the semantics of those instructions. The term run is generally synonymous. The act of starting execution is often called launching or invoking in addition to executing and running.

An execution processor comes in many forms. A machine code program may be executed via the programmable interface of a computer or virtual machine where execution involves repeatedly following a fetch–decode–execute cycle for each program instruction executed by the control unit. Source code may be executed by interpreter software. A program may be executed in a batch process without human interaction or a user may type commands in an interactive session.

Multi-user software is computer software that allows access by multiple users of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems. Most batch processing systems for mainframe computers may also be considered "multi-user", to avoid leaving the CPU idle while it waits for I/O operations to complete. However, the term "multitasking" is more common in this context.

An example is a Unix or Unix-like system where multiple remote users have access (such as via a serial port or Secure Shell) to the Unix shell prompt at the same time. Another example uses multiple X Window sessions spread across multiple terminals powered by a single machine – this is an example of the use of thin client. Similar functions were also available in a variety of non-Unix-like operating systems, such as Multics, VM/CMS, OpenVMS, MP/M, Concurrent CP/M, Concurrent DOS, FlexOS, Multiuser DOS, REAL/32, OASIS, THEOS, PC-MOS, TSX-32 and VM/386.

Data cleansing or data cleaning is the process of identifying and correcting (or removing) corrupt, inaccurate, or irrelevant records from a dataset, table, or database. It involves detecting incomplete, incorrect, or inaccurate parts of the data and then replacing, modifying, or deleting the affected data. Data cleansing can be performed interactively using data wrangling tools, or through batch processing often via scripts or a data quality firewall.

After cleansing, a data set should be consistent with other similar data sets in the system. The inconsistencies detected or removed may have been originally caused by user entry errors, by corruption in transmission or storage, or by different data dictionary definitions of similar entities in different stores. Data cleaning differs from data validation in that validation almost invariably means data is rejected from the system at entry and is performed at the time of entry, rather than on batches of data.

In computer science, interactive computing refers to software which accepts input from the user as it runs.

Interactive software includes commonly used programs, such as word processors or spreadsheet applications. By comparison, non-interactive programs operate without user intervention; examples of these include compilers and batch processing applications that are pre-programmed to run independently.

In computer science, a stream is a sequence of potentially unlimited data elements made available over time. A stream can be thought of as items on a conveyor belt being processed one at a time rather than in large batches. Streams are processed differently from batch data.

Normal functions cannot operate on streams as a whole because they have potentially unlimited data. Formally, streams are codata (potentially unlimited), not data (which is finite).

In computer storage, a tape library is a physical area that holds magnetic data tapes. In an earlier era, tape libraries were maintained by people known as tape librarians and computer operators and the proper operation of the library was crucial to the running of batch processing jobs. Although tape libraries of this era were not automated, the use of tape management system software could assist in running them.

Subsequently, tape libraries became physically automated, and as such are sometimes called a tape silo, tape robot, or tape jukebox. These are a storage devices that contain one or more tape drives, a number of slots to hold tape cartridges, a barcode reader to identify tape cartridges, and an automated method for loading tapes (a robot). Such solutions are mostly used for backups and for digital archiving. Additionally, the area where tapes that are not currently in a silo are stored is also called a tape library. One of the earliest examples was the IBM 3850 Mass Storage System (MSS), announced in 1974.

In computing, execution is the process by which a computer program is processed to perform the actions that it encodes. As the processor follows the program instructions, effects are produced in accordance with the semantics of those instructions. The term run is generally synonymous. The act of starting execution is often called launching or invoking in addition to executing and running.

An execution processor comes in many forms. A machine code program may be executed via the programmable interface of a computer where execution involves repeatedly following a fetch–decode–execute cycle for each program instruction executed by the control unit. Source code may be executed by interpreter software. A program may be executed in a batch process without human interaction or a user may type commands in an interactive session.

COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language; /ˈkoʊbɒl, -bɔːl/) is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is an imperative, procedural, and, since 2002, object-oriented language. COBOL is primarily used in business, finance, and administrative systems for companies and governments. COBOL is still widely used in applications deployed on mainframe computers, such as large-scale batch and transaction processing jobs. Many large financial institutions were developing new systems in the language as late as 2006, but most programming in COBOL today is purely to maintain existing applications. Programs are being moved to new platforms, rewritten in modern languages, or replaced with other software.

COBOL's design was started in 1959 by CODASYL and was partly based on the programming language FLOW-MATIC, designed by Grace Hopper. It was created as part of a U.S. Department of Defense effort to create a portable programming language for data processing. It was originally seen as a stopgap, but the Defense Department promptly pressured computer manufacturers to provide it, resulting in its widespread adoption. It was standardized in 1968 and has been revised five times. Expansions include support for structured and object-oriented programming. The current standard is ISO/IEC 1989:2023.