[common] To do a task in
background is to do it whenever
foreground matters are not claiming your undivided
attention, and to background
something means to relegate it to a lower priority. For now, we'll
just print a list of nodes and links; I'm working on the graph-printing
problem in background.
Note that this implies ongoing activity but
at a reduced level or in spare time, in contrast to mainstream ‘back
burner’ (which connotes benign neglect until some future resumption
of activity). Some people prefer to use the term for processing that they
have queued up for their unconscious minds (a tack that one can often
fruitfully take upon encountering an obstacle in creative work). Compare
amp off, slopsucker.
Technically, a task running in background is detached from the terminal where it was started (and often running at a lower priority); oppose foreground. Nowadays this term is primarily associated with Unix, but it appears to have been first used in this sense on OS/360.