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spool

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.21 sec.

spool

See print spooler and spooling.

spool
a device around which magnetic tape, film, cotton, etc., can be automatically wound, with plates at top and bottom to prevent it from slipping off
1.(operating system)SPOOL - Acronym for Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line; but see also spool.
2.(language)Spool - An object-oriented logic programming language.

["An Experience with a Prolog Based Language", K. Fukunaga et al, SIGPLAN Notices 21(11):224-231 (Nov 1986) (OOPSLA '86)].
3.(operating system)spool - To send files to some device or program (a "spooler" or demon) that puts them in a queue for later processing of some kind. Without qualification, the spooler is the "print spooler" controlling output of jobs to a printer; but the term has been used in connection with other peripherals (especially plotters and graphics devices) and occasionally even for input devices.

The term "SPOOL" has been attributed to IBM as an acronym for Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line but it's widely thought to have been contrived for effect.



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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Next, I inspected the work itself, of which there still remained a few remnants, and saw that you had used one of my letters for a spool upon which to wind your thread.
Poor Folk by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor View in context
The Manxman took the reel, and holding it high up, by the projecting handle-ends of the spindle, round which the spool of line revolved, so stood with the angular log hanging downwards, till Ahab advanced to him.
Moby Dick LXVIII-CXXXIV by Melville, Herman View in context
We split the ball open with the hatchet, and there was a spool in it.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Twain, Mark View in context
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