Slot Definition and Use
A slit or other narrow opening, especially one for receiving something, as a coin or a letter. Also, a position or place in a group, series, or sequence; a position of employment in an organization or hierarchy.
In sports, the unmarked area in front of the goal on an ice hockey rink, where the slot is positioned. A player in this position is usually a wing, or winger, and can be either a forward or a defenceman. A player in this position is able to move around the field with relative ease and speed because of his or her ability to get into the middle of the action and to receive passes from the quarterback.
The slot is a specialized table slot which allows the user to hold data that repeats at a particular time interval. For example, a periodic slot might contain the evaporation coefficients for a reservoir that vary seasonally. This data would need to be repeated every year. This would be impractical if entered into a series slot, but could be easily held in a periodic slot with the correct configuration of column headers.
A period slot can be configured to have text or numeric headers, and has the option to lookup or linearly interpolate. The data in a period slot can be indexed by a number of different types of timesteps (1 Hour, 1 Day, 1 Month, etc.). A numeric value for a column in a period slot can be specified using a range, and the system will automatically interpolate between the min and max values for that range.
Unlike a series slot, which is a list of numbers, a scalar slot is a single number, usually defined by a user-defined arithmetic expression that may include values from other slots. The scalar value in a scalar slot can be accessed by using RPL syntax that uses a numeric variable, or by looking at the result of a solve.
Another popular use of the term is in reference to a slot machine. These are machines that take cash or, in some cases, paper tickets with barcodes, and issue credits based on a paytable. Many of these games have a theme and feature symbols related to that theme, such as fruit, bells, or stylized lucky sevens. The amount of credit a player receives depends on the combination and quantity of symbols landed, as well as the number and type of bonus features activated.
It is important to note that no slot game reaches or misses a jackpot by “being due.” A winning combination is determined at random. It is possible to hit a jackpot multiple times, but the odds of doing so are very low. Despite this, many people waste money and time chasing a jackpot they believe is due. This is a dangerous game to play, and can lead to financial ruin. A good rule of thumb is to play conservatively and only invest what you can afford to lose.