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  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Asynchronous  \A*syn"chro*nous\,  a.  [Gr.  ?  not  +  synchronous.] 
  Not  simultaneous;  not  concurrent  in  time;  --  opposed  to 
  {synchronous}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  asynchronous 
  adj  1:  (digital  communication)  pertaining  to  a  transmission 
  technique  that  does  not  require  a  common  clock  between 
  the  communicating  devices;  timing  signals  are  derived 
  from  special  characters  in  the  data  stream  itself 
  [ant:  {synchronous}] 
  2:  not  synchronous;  not  occurring  or  existing  at  the  same  time 
  or  having  the  same  period  or  phase  [ant:  {synchronous}] 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  asynchronous 
 
    Not  synchronised  by  a  shared  signal  such  as 
  {clock}  or  {semaphore},  proceeding  independently. 
 
  Opposite:  {synchronous}. 
 
  1.    A  {process}  in  a  {multitasking}  system 
  whose  execution  can  proceed  independently,  "in  the 
  {background}".  Other  processes  may  be  started  before  the 
  asynchronous  process  has  finished. 
 
  2.    A  communications  system  in  which  data 
  transmission  may  start  at  any  time  and  is  indicated  by  a 
  {start  bit},  e.g.  {EIA-232}.  A  data  {byte}  (or  other  element 
  defined  by  the  {protocol})  ends  with  a  {stop  bit}.  A 
  continuous  marking  condition  (identical  to  stop  bits  but  not 
  quantized  in  time),  is  then  maintained  until  data  resumes. 
 
  (1995-12-08) 
 
 

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