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Abort

Webopedia Staff
Webopedia Staff
Updated on:
To stop a program or function before it has finished naturally. The term abort refers to both requested and unexpected terminations. For example, many applications let you abort a search or a print job by pressing a specified abort key. On the other hand, programs can abort unexpectedly for any of the following reasons:

  • bugs in the software
  • unexpected input that the program cannot handle
  • hardware malfunction

    • When a program aborts, you are usually returned to the operating system shell level. Contrast abort with crash, which makes the entire system, including the operating system, unusable.

    Webopedia Staff
    Webopedia Staff
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