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Many business applications input information as soon as it becomes available. Each item is then processed individually. This method is known as on-line processing (on-line, in this case, means online to a central processor, rather than the Internet, but it could mean both.) For example, airlines take your name, flight number, destination, etc. and immediately record it on the airline’s computer. The central file is immediately updated with your file on it.
However sometimes it is more convenient to collect all the information first and input files in large lots or batches. All the files are collected and grouped together before they are sorted and processed in a single job. This method is called batch processing. A good example of this would be payroll processing, where nearly every master file record will be affected. The data is collected over a period of time, then input, and verified, and finally centrally processed without manual intervention.
Answer the questions:
1) Which process has immediate results?
2) Which process has continuous input?
3) Which process performs repetitive tasks on a large number of pieces of data?
4) Which process would usually run overnight or at the end of the month?
5) Which process prompts a user for input?
