ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Polling (computer science)

Polling in computer science is like when mommy asks you if you're done with your homework every hour until you say yes.

In computers, it's a way for a program or device to keep checking if another program or device is ready to communicate. Just like how mommy checks if you're ready to do something.

For example, if you're playing a video game on your computer and the game wants to know if your internet connection is still working, the game will keep "asking" your computer if the internet is still available. This is called polling.

It's like when mommy keeps checking if you finished your homework yet, the computer program keeps asking until it gets a response.

Polling is a simple and effective way for computers to communicate with each other and make sure everything is working correctly. Just like how mommy makes sure you're doing your homework, computers use polling to make sure they're connecting properly.