overrun
1. A frequent consequence of data arriving faster than it can
be consumed, especially in {serial line} communications. For
example, at 9600 baud there is almost exactly one character
per millisecond, so if a {silo} can hold only two characters
and the machine takes longer than 2 milliseconds to get to
service the interrupt, at least one character will be lost.
2. Also applied to non-serial-I/O communications. "I forgot
to pay my electric bill due to mail overrun." "Sorry, I got
four phone calls in 3 minutes last night and lost your message
to overrun." When {thrash}ing at tasks, the next person to
make a request might be told "Overrun!" Compare {firehose
syndrome}.
3. More loosely, may refer to a {buffer overflow} not
necessarily related to processing time (as in {overrun
screw}).
[{Jargon File}]