ITPEC IP April 2023 Question 16

Collecting the data of a set period or quantity and processing it all together — that is batch processing.

In batch processing, transactions are accumulated and then processed in one run, usually at a scheduled time with no user waiting for the result: monthly payroll, daily sales totals, transfers settled overnight. It handles large volumes efficiently, but the results are only as current as the last run.

Answer (a)

Why not others:

• •(b) — processing each request at once and answering within seconds is real-time processing, as in seat reservations or ATMs
• •(c) — spreading processes over several computers or processors to shorten execution time is parallel or distributed processing
• •(d) — responding to each user request step by step, as in a conversation, is interactive processing

Key rule: Batch processing trades immediacy for efficiency; choose real-time or interactive processing when a user or an event needs an answer at once.

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