Time-sharing

<p>In <a href="/facts/Computing/Kghtm9fX">computing</a>, time-sharing is the <a href="/facts/Concurrency_(computer_science)/Ctnrrq4A">concurrent</a> sharing of a computing resource among many tasks or users by giving each <a href="/facts/Process_(computing)/Vcq7EnUV">task</a> or <a href="/facts/User_(computing)/zQRzG0KG">user</a> a small slice of <a href="/facts/CPU_time/BhzkBzFl">processing time</a>. This quick switch between tasks or users gives the illusion of <a href="/facts/Parallel_computing/nQzcpzQt">simultaneous</a> execution. It enables <a href="/facts/Computer_multitasking/Q4acPNMv">multi-tasking</a> by a single user or enables multiple-user sessions.
</p><p>Developed during the 1960s, its emergence as the prominent model of computing in the 1970s represented a major technological shift in the history of computing. By allowing many users to interact <a href="/facts/Concurrent_computing/yVzQBPr9">concurrently</a> with a single computer, time-sharing dramatically lowered the cost of providing computing capability, made it possible for individuals and organizations to use a computer without owning one, and promoted the <a href="/facts/Interactive_computing/gtzhk4sJ">interactive use of computers</a> and the development of new interactive <a href="/facts/Application_software/YQuj7Kog">applications</a>.
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Time-sharing open-in-new

Time-sharing