JargonFile/entries/spool.txt
2014-04-26 16:54:15 +01:00

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spool
vi. [from early IBM Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line , but is
widely thought to be a backronym ] To send files to some device or program
(a spooler ) that queues them up and does something useful with them later.
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. See also demon.