Which is a better and commonly used word, Bulk or Batch?

Solution 1:

I don't agree that batch and bulk are exactly antonyms. I think this is a false dichotomy, as i can distinctly see three options here:

• Process each file as the user uploads it. (Individual / continuous processing)
• Process a batch of files based on a trigger, e.g. the user clicking a button (batch processing)
• Process all files one by one at the end of the day / week / year (bulk processing)

In your automated process, these options are distinct in that they have specific impacts on performance and data availability. The individual processing ensures up-to-data data, but with many users or a single user handling many files, performance might be a problem. The batch processing still ensures up-to-date data in a reasonable way, but it might avoid multi-user-caused performance problems (a user only will cause resources to be used once per batch of files) The bulk processing option ensures that you can do processing without making users wait or using system resources while the system is online (you can do it at night).

On a side note: be indeed careful with "batch file processing". It might be read as (batch file) processing, which means something different from batch (file processing).

I would suggest "we process the files individually / in batch / in bulk".

Solution 2:

I would suggest using "bulk" to describe the process to a non-technical audience. "Bulk" is more common as an adjective (quantifier? determiner?) in common speech, so it would make more sense to most people.

You probably shouldn't use either to describe it to a technical audience, since both terms (particularly batch file) have distinct unrelated meanings in technical fields.