: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}.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
