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Glite Dictionary
🌐 Distribution reach 🔌 Output capacity 🖥️ Module connections
fan-out

fan-out

7.3
The number of other program parts a single part calls or depends on
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : dependencias
  • In software development, understanding fan-out is crucial for managing the dependencies between different modules.

Examples

  • So one thing that you see in sensor network programming is fan in and fan out problems.

  • This can be minimized by limiting fan-out to less than fifteen.

    Academic text (1996)

  • But and there's another class called AC which is when you have unbounded fan outs and fan in, let's say.

  • Often, signals that provide a constant logical one or zero value can present layout problems for technologies with explicit tie-up or tie-down cells, in that multiple usages of a constant value can result in tie cells with high fan-out and the use of a significant number of wiring channels on the chip.

    Academic text (1996)

  • A high fan-out can make maintenance difficult due to the increased number of connections each module has.

  • The system architecture was designed with a low fan-out to ensure better performance and easier debugging.

Surface Forms

fan-out singular
fan-outs plural

Morphology

fan-out = fan (semi-transparent) = out + fan

The components 'fan' and 'out' are clear, but the specific meaning of software module dependencies is metaphorical. [Postprocessing: moved 'out' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Fan-out comes from the idea of a fan opening out so one centre reaches many blades. In software a fan-out is the number of other parts a module directly 'uses', so a large fan-out means one module depends on many others.