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spool
(redirected from spools)

    Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia 0.10 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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