Final answer:
A non-blocking system call does not halt the execution of the application but allows it to continue running, maintaining responsiveness and efficiency in handling I/O operations.
Step-by-step explanation:
A non-blocking system call does not halt the execution of the application. Instead, it allows the application to continue running even if the operation associated with the system call has not been completed. This approach is particularly useful in applications that need to maintain responsiveness, such as graphical user interfaces or network servers. With non-blocking calls, a program can issue an I/O request and immediately proceed to the next line of code without waiting for the I/O operation to finish. This can be compared to blocking system calls, which suspend the execution of the application until the operation completes.