Timeout (computing)

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Network timeout preventing a Web browser from loading a page After earthquake INGV site down - 5 April 2009.jpg
Network timeout preventing a Web browser from loading a page

In telecommunications and related engineering (including computer networking and programming), the term timeout or time-out has several meanings, including:

Contents

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.

Challenges

Balancing timeout values in distributed systems and microservices can be tricky: short timeout values can fail healthy requests prematurely, leading to complex workarounds, while long timeout values can result in slow error responses and poor user experiences. The circuit breaker design pattern can be a better alternative, as it can monitor service health, detect failures dynamically and faster, and improve the user experience. [1]

Examples

timeout
Developer(s) Microsoft, ReactOS Contributors
Operating system Windows, ReactOS
Type Command
License Windows: Proprietary commercial software
ReactOS: GNU General Public License
Website docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/timeout_1

Specific examples include:

See also

References

  1. Richards, Mark. Microservices AntiPatterns and Pitfalls. O'Reilly.
  2. "timeout.c". July 13, 2019 via GitHub.
  3. "timeout". docs.microsoft.com. 3 February 2023.
  4. "TIMEOUT.exe (Windows 7/2008 or later)". ss64.com.

Further reading