A slot is the operation issue and data path machinery surrounding a set of execution units, also known as functional units (FU). A compute pipeline can have multiple FUs in process, each executing one instruction per basic instruction cycle. The number of FUs in the pipeline at any given time is called the slot population. Modern conventional central processing units have several compute pipelines, each with one or more slots. The term “slot” is also used in very long instruction word (VLIW) computers to refer to the relationship between an individual FU and the operation issued to it in a basic cycle.
At the casino, players put money into a slot machine and spin to see if they have won. Winning combinations of symbols line up on horizontal, vertical or diagonal paylines in zigzag patterns to earn credits, sometimes more than the amount paid for a spin. The value of each credit is called the denomination, which can range from pennies to $100. Each machine has a pay table that shows the prize value and which bet sizes correspond to each prize.
The slot table and composition tree are the core data structures that make Jetpack Compose fast, smart and reactive — without relying on real View objects in memory. In this article, we’ll unpack the concepts behind them, so that you can understand how they work.