abnormal termination

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abnormal termination A termination to a process brought about by the operating system when the process reaches a point from which it cannot continue, e.g. when the process attempts to obey an undefined instruction. In contrast, a process that reaches a successful conclusion terminates normally by issuing a suitable supervisor call to the operating system. It is common practice to inform the initiator of the process as to whether the termination was normal or abnormal.

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