maintenance

maintenance

1. Law (formerly unlawful) the interference in a legal action by a person having no interest in it, as by providing funds to continue the action

2. Law a provision ordered to be made by way of periodical payments or a lump sum, as after a divorce for a spouse

3. Computing

a. the correction or prevention of faults in hardware by a programme of inspection and the replacement of parts

b. the removal of existing faults and the modification of software in response to changes in specification or environment

Maintenance

Providing upkeep, repair and care for a building’s structural integrity and appearance after acquisition or after restoration, at an acceptable level to enable it to fulfill its function over its life cycle, and to prevent deterioration. Green products and structures feature low- or no-maintenance materials and designs that reduce the resources required for their continued use, as well as reduce the likelihood that replacement will be needed.

maintenance

[′mānt·ən·əns]

(industrial engineering)

The upkeep of industrial facilities and equipment.

maintenance

The upkeep of a building and its equipment so that the building can continue to perform its required functions. See condition-based maintenance, corrective maintenance, deferred maintenance, emergency maintenance, periodic maintenance, planned maintenance, preventive maintenance, scheduled maintenance.

maintenance

All activities excepting repairs, scheduled or unscheduled, to keep aircraft or equipment in a serviceable state. It includes inspection, replenishment, preservation, adjustments, lubrication, and replacement of unserviceable parts and components. It may also include overhauls, although the term usually refers to activities on the flight line only.

maintenance

(programming)

The modification of a software product, after delivery, to correct faults, to improve performance or other attributes, or to adapt the product to a changed environment.

Maintenance is an important part of the software life-cycle. It is expensive in manpower and resources, and one of the aims of software engineering is to reduce its cost.

maintenance

(1) Hardware maintenance is the testing and cleaning of equipment.

(2) Software maintenance is the updating of operating systems and application programs in order to add new functions and change data formats. It also includes fixing bugs and adapting the software to new hardware devices. See program maintenance.

(3) Information system maintenance is the routine updating of databases, such as adding or deleting employees and customers, as well as changing credit limits and product prices. See information system.

(4) Disk and file maintenance is the periodic reorganizing of disk files that have become fragmented due to continuous updating. See fragmentation and file system.