Housekeeping (computing)

In computer programming, housekeeping can refer to either a standard entry or exit routine appended to a user-written block of code (such as a subroutine or function, sometimes known as a function prologue and epilogue) at its entry and exit or, alternatively, to any other automated or manual software process whereby a computer is cleaned up after usage (e.g. freeing resources such as virtual memory). This might include such activities as removing or archiving logs that the system has made as a result of the users activities, or deletion of temporary files which may otherwise simply take up space. Housekeeping can be described as a necessary chore, required to perform a particular computer's normal activity but not necessarily part of the algorithm.[1] For cleaning up computer disk storage, utility software usually exists for this purpose such as data compression software - to "shrink" files and release disk space and defragmentation programs - to improve disk performance.[2]

Examples

Housekeeping could include (but is not limited to) the following activities:

gollark: I'm not sure why you would decide to be made of antimatter. That would be silly.
gollark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CP_violation
gollark: I assume you have particle accelerators.
gollark: Well, the obvious approach is to use the weird asymmetric things in particle physics which I recall existing.
gollark: You could transmit an image, obviously, but there's no guarantee you'll write it down the same way round.

See also

References
  1. "Housekeeping", ComputerHope.Com. Accessed July 20, 2009
  2. "Basic Computer Housekeeping Tips". Accessed July 20, 2009


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