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What does "heartbeat" mean in programming?
heartbeat is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
A periodic signal sent by a component to indicate it is still alive and functioning. If a heartbeat is not received within a timeout window, the system assumes the component has failed and triggers failover or alerts.
Example
"The load balancer removes a server from rotation if it misses three consecutive heartbeat checks."
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