polling

The process of repeatedly testing until a condition becomes true. Polling can be inefficient if the time between tests is short compared with the time it will take for the condition to become true. A polling thread should sleep between consecutive tests in order to give other threads a chance to run. An alternative approach to polling is to arrange for an interrupt to be sent when the condition is true, or to use the wait and notify mechanism associated with threads.

Network control in which the control station invites tributary stations to transmit in the sequence specified by the control station. 2. In point-to-point or multipoint communication, the process whereby stations are invited one at a time to transmit. 3. Sequential interrogation of devices for various purposes, such as avoiding contention, determining operational status, or determining readiness to send or receive data. 4. In automated HF radio systems, a technique for measuring and reporting channel quality.