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.
