Swaptype

Swaptype is a term used in computing to designate the category or mode of a swap operation or swap space. It does not refer to a single standardized concept, but rather to how a system classifies the source, destination, or approach used when moving data between fast memory and slower storage, or when performing value exchanges in software.

In operating systems, swaptype may indicate whether the swap area is a file or a dedicated partition, the policy that governs which pages are swapped, or the kind of paging operation being performed (for example, swapping in versus swapping out). In systems with multiple swap backends, a swaptype tag helps the memory manager apply appropriate handling, tracking, and accounting. Some implementations expose a numeric or enumerated swaptype value for diagnostics and configuration.

In programming, some libraries define a SwapType enumeration to represent how two values should be exchanged. This can distinguish between simple memory swaps of trivially copyable types and more complex swaps that require constructors, destructors, or move semantics. A swaptype may also indicate thread safety or atomicity requirements.

In databases or caching subsystems, swap-type concepts may appear in the context of cache eviction or page swapping, where the type denotes the source of a page (in-memory versus disk) or the strategy used to move pages between layers.

Because the term is not universally standardized, practical definitions vary by platform. Consult system documentation for the specific meaning of swaptype in that context.