slopsucker

2 definitions found

slopsucker - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  slopsucker
  bottom feeder
  
     /slop'suhk-r/ A lowest-priority task that only runs when the
     computer would otherwise be idle.  Also called a "hungry
     puppy" or "bottom feeder" (after the fishermen's and
     naturalists' term for finny creatures who subsist on the
     primordial ooze).
  
     One common variety of slopsucker hunts for large prime numbers
     .
  
     Compare background.
  
     [Jargon File]
  
     (2003-09-29)
  

slopsucker - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  slopsucker
   /slop'suhk.r/, n.
  
     A lowest-priority task that waits around until everything else has
     `had its fill' of machine resources. Only when the machine would
     otherwise be idle is the task allowed to ``suck up the slop'. Also
     called a hungry puppy or bottom feeder. One common variety of
     slopsucker hunts for large prime numbers. Compare background.