background n.,adj.,vt.
[common] To do a task `in
background' is to do it whenever foreground matters are not
claiming your undivided attention, and `to background' something
means to relegate it to a lower priority. "For now, we'll just
print a list of nodes and links; I'm working on the graph-printing
problem in background." Note that this implies ongoing activity
but at a reduced level or in spare time, in contrast to mainstream
`back burner' (which connotes benign neglect until some future
resumption of activity). Some people prefer to use the term for
processing that they have queued up for their unconscious minds (a
tack that one can often fruitfully take upon encountering an
obstacle in creative work). Compare amp off, slopsucker.
Technically, a task running in background is detached from the
terminal where it was started (and often running at a lower
priority); oppose foreground. Nowadays this term is primarily
associated with Unix, but it appears to have been first used
in this sense on OS/360.
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