A slot is a place for an item to be held or stored. It may refer to a physical opening, such as a receptacle for a key, or it may be a metaphorical space for an object, such as a position in a game or in a job interview. A slot is also a type of container used in computers and other devices, including automobiles and airplanes.
The term “slot” is also a verb meaning to place or set something into a space. In computer terms, a slot is an area of storage on a disk or in memory that can hold information. A slot can be configured for different purposes, such as to store data or to store program code. Slots are usually organized in a row or block on a disk or in memory, and they can be assigned different types of data or files.
Generally, the larger the space allocated to a slot, the more memory or data that can be stored in it. The amount of space that can be stored in a slot is called its capacity. In general, slots can be configured to store any table of data. These can include curves (2-Dimensional) or surfaces (3-Dimensional), or they can be a group of unrelated tables such as the Elevation Volume table. Table slots can be configured to lookup or to linearly interpolate.
When a slot is used to store a table, its columns can be specified using the Table tab of the Configure Slot dialog. Depending on the type of slot and its configuration, the table columns can be specified as text strings or numeric values with units. If a table slot is a periodic one, it can be used to define the different phases of a reservoir. For example, a phase 1 slot may contain the pool elevations throughout the year, while a phase 2 slot would contain the surcharge pools during the winter.
Periodic slots can also be used backwards from the table values and dates outward to define a value associated with the column(s). For instance, the first periodic slot could represent the conservation pool elevations. Then, the second periodic slot could be used to determine the pool elevations during the flood. Similarly, the third periodic slot could be used to determine the surcharge pool elevations during the storm.
To configure a slot, select it and click the Configure Slot button in the Toolbar or use the View, then Configure Slot menu. The configuration options depend on the type of slot and its mode of operation (Table, Input, or Iterative MRM). Integer indexed slots are configurable like standard time series slots and can be accessed from RPL by specifying a Run Index: Slot[E] or an integer indexed Slot in a System Control Table (SCT).