A slit or other narrow opening, especially one for receiving something. A position in a series or sequence; an assignment or job opening.
A slot in a computer system in which a program or process can run. Typically, each slot is associated with a specific resource. When a slot is allocated to a running process, that process may be given priority over other slots within the same partition. A slot can be used to store data, such as a database record or file, and to perform operations on that data. Using a slot can help improve performance by keeping frequently used data close to other applications or processes.
In modern slot machines, the reels are arranged to display symbols such as stylized lucky sevens, fruit, or other objects. Each symbol has a different probability of appearing on each reel. When a winning combination is made, the player earns credits based on the paytable. The payout amount varies by machine. Modern slot machines are designed with a theme, and the symbols and other bonus features typically align with that theme.
Slots are dynamic placeholders that can either wait for content (a passive slot) or call out to a renderer to fill it with content (an active slot). A single slot can only contain one type of repository item, and multiple slots of the same type cannot be fed by the same renderer. This helps ensure that test jobs don’t compete for resources with production workloads.