heartbeat : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: heartbeat	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for heartbeat
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
heartbeat n the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart; "he could feel the beat of her heart" Synonym(s): pulse, pulsation, heartbeat, beat a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat); "if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash" Synonym(s): blink of an eye, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiffy, split second, trice, twinkling, wink, New York minute an animating or vital unifying force; "New York is the commercial heartbeat of America"
From Jargon File (4.2.0, 31 JAN 2000) [jargon]:
heartbeat n. 1. The signal emitted by a Level 2 Ethernet transceiver at the end of every packet to show that the collision-detection circuit is still connected. 2. A periodic synchronization signal used by software or hardware, such as a bus clock or a periodic interrupt. 3. The `natural' oscillation frequency of a computer's clock crystal, before frequency division down to the machine's clock rate. 4. A signal emitted at regular intervals by software to demonstrate that it is still alive. Sometimes hardware is designed to reboot the machine if it stops hearing a heartbeat. See also {breath-of-life packet}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
heartbeat 1. The signal emitted by a Level 2 Ethernet transceiver at the end of every {packet} to show that the collision-detection circuit is still connected. 2. A periodic synchronisation signal used by software or hardware, such as a {bus} clock or a periodic {interrupt}. 3. The "natural" oscillation frequency of a computer's clock crystal, before frequency division down to the machine's clock rate. 4. A signal emitted at regular intervals by software to demonstrate that it is still alive. Sometimes hardware is designed to reboot the machine if it stops hearing a heartbeat. See also {breath-of-life packet}, {watchdog}. [{Jargon File}] (1996-03-12)