endless loop

infinite loop
endless loop
wound around the axle

   <programming> (Or "endless loop") Where a piece of program is
   executed repeatedly with no hope of stopping.  This is nearly
   always because of a {bug}, e.g. if the condition for exiting
   the loop is wrong, though it may be intentional if the program
   is controlling an {embedded system} which is supposed to run
   continuously until it is turned off.  The programmer may also
   intend the program to run until interrupted by the user.  An
   endless loop may also be used as a last-resort error handler
   when no other action is appropriate.  This is used in some
   {operating system} kernels following a {panic}.

   A program executing an infinite loop is said to {spin} or
   {buzz} forever and goes {catatonic}.  The program is "wound
   around the axle".

   A standard joke has been made about each generation's exemplar
   of the ultra-fast machine: "The Cray-3 is so fast it can
   execute an infinite loop in under 2 seconds!"

   See also {black hole}, {recursion}, {infinite loop}.

   [{Jargon File}]

   (1996-05-11)