swap vt.
1. [techspeak] To move information from a fast-access memory
to a slow-access memory (`swap out'), or vice versa (`swap in').
Often refers specifically to the use of disks as `virtual
memory'. As pieces of data or program are needed, they are
swapped into core for processing; when
they are no longer needed they may be swapped out again. 2. The
jargon use of these terms analogizes people's short-term memories
with core. Cramming for an exam might be spoken of as swapping
in. If you temporarily forget someone's name, but then remember
it, your excuse is that it was swapped out. To `keep something
swapped in' means to keep it fresh in your memory: "I reread the
TECO manual every few months to keep it swapped in." If someone
interrupts you just as you got a good idea, you might say "Wait a
moment while I swap this out", implying that a piece of paper is
your extra-somatic memory and that if you don't swap the idea out
by writing it down it will get overwritten and lost as you talk.
Compare page in, page out.
Node:swap space, Next:swapped in, Previous:swap, Up:= S
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swap space n.
Storage space, especially temporary storage space used during
a move or reconfiguration. "I'm just using that corner of the
machine room for swap space."