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I just wanted to know the best (preferably a single-word) translation of the English word throughput. Would you opt for capacidad, rendimiento or función de transferencia?

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    It probably depends on context. In the context of, say, a hard disk, you clearly could not use "capacidad," because that would generally mean the storage capacity, not throughput capacity. Are you looking for an answer for a specific context?
    – Flimzy
    Feb 8, 2012 at 20:35
  • @Artur can you add a bit of context? "The best translation" is just too vague, because it depends on too many things. For example, where you are going to use the word? How formal is the language you're using? Also, it seems like you're offering three options only, when the best translation might not even be one of those.
    – Janoma
    Feb 8, 2012 at 21:40
  • When I was learning queueing theory for telecommunications, we used the word throughput, in English. I guess they had the same problem translating it, so they just used the word in English.
    – MikMik
    Feb 9, 2012 at 9:46
  • @Artur, is your context data throughput or industrial throughput? Sep 16, 2012 at 11:50

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Not easy... throughput, for me (I'm an engineer) means some "rate of production", i.e. (in very general sense) how much of some product some productor/machine produces as a function of time.

"Rendimiento" seems the more used translation. But, it sometimes implies a relative measure of productivity (how much is produced as a function of how much is consumed), a concept more akin to "efficiency"; hence, "un rendimiento del 100%". Despite this potential confusion, this seems the more apt word to me.

"Capacidad" is not very apt, it just means "capacity" - it would make sense only if in its context it can be understood as "capacity of production" - sometimes is used in this way; but then, it would only apply to a "theoretical/nominal throughput", not to an actual/measured throughput. "Función de transferencia" does not make much sense to me.

In some contexts, the least ambiguous translation would be "tasa (de X)", ("rate") where X is the relevant amount (eg: "tasa de transferencia" or "tasa de lectura"). Or, in general "tasa de producción", or simply "producción".

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  • Yes, as much as I can feel the word 'capacidad' - it is kind of static. However when we speak of road that is under construction and 2 out of 3 lanes are closed, we could certainly use that word, couldn't we?
    – Artur
    Feb 8, 2012 at 20:52
  • Yes. But I'm not sure that "throughput" would be the apt word there.
    – leonbloy
    Feb 9, 2012 at 0:59
  • That's because neither English or Spanish are my first language. The context is really broad, but the factory and road examples would be the best here. Funcción de transferencia was a suggested translation in a dictionary, but it just does not click in any context.
    – Artur
    Feb 9, 2012 at 8:33
  • @Artur What is your first language? Maybe there is someone that knows the language and knows spanish very well too, so hir can help you.
    – Jose Luis
    Feb 10, 2012 at 11:59
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There is no single word translation.

In case of HDD throughput (transfer rate) it's tasa de transferencia.

In case of network throughput it's ancho de banda. Note, that this literally translates to bandwidth.

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  • Bandwidth measures information passing capacity. Throughput measures actual information transfer. It's misleading to use one concept in place of the other, although Spanish usage might allow the same term to cover both concepts. Sep 13, 2012 at 8:03
  • Busqué el término "ancho de banda" en wikipedia. Extraje lo suguiente del artículo: Es común denominar ancho de banda digital a la cantidad de datos que se pueden transmitir en una unidad de tiempo. Sep 15, 2012 at 9:22
  • Según mi parecer, "ancho de banda" se refiere a un límite de "throughput" y nó a "throughput" en sí. Sep 15, 2012 at 9:24
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Some people might misread "rendimiento" as "performance". Performance and throughput are closely related concepts, so maybe it's close enough.

 Desfragmentar un disco mejora su rendimiento.

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Busqué la palabra "Throughput" en Wikipedia. Por error mío, lo busqué en Wikipedia en español. Lo interesante es que hay un artículo para esa palabra en la versión española, y no se salta a otro término. Aquí presento las primeras tres frases.

Se llama throughput al volumen de trabajo o de información que fluye a través de un sistema. Así también se le llama al volumen de información que fluye en las redes de datos. Particularmente significativo en almacenamiento de información y sistemas de recuperación de información, en los cuales el rendimiento es medido en unidades como accesos por hora.

Parece que no hay una sola frase que quiere decir "throughput". En caso contrario, los autores de wikipedia seguramente lo habrían usado. El artículo completo describe el empleo de "throughput" en la informática, y también en la industria.

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Adhiero a que traducir throughput como tasa de rendimiento parecería lo más correcto, o productividad o quizá desempeño.

Es importante diferenciar en castellano, como se diferencian en inglés throughput y performance. Si se traducen ambas como "rendimiento" se pierde esa diferenciación. En ese caso, ni "capacidad" ni "función de transferencia" reflejan realmente la diferencia, aunque esto sería un debate para otra pregunta.

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  • Hola Alejandra. Puedes por favor ser un poco más asertiva en lo que crees que es una posible traducción para throughput y por qué? trata de responder claramente a la pregunta. Si en lugar de aportar algo nuevo quieres respaldar alguna de las otras respuestas lo suyo es votarlas. Visita las secciones tour, help center y How to Answer. No dudes en pedir ayuda si la necesitas. Tal como está ahora tu contribución es un poco difusa y confusa. Intenta mejorarla un poco, puesto que ahora está a caballo entre un comentario, contenido de otros posts, y una mínima aportación propia.
    – Diego
    Sep 6, 2017 at 16:02
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I'm surprised that no one has mentioned caudal, which generally is used with respect to rivers but could easily be adapted as a less clunky translation.

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