<varlistentry>

<term><acronym>AIO</acronym></term>

<listitem>

<para>

<link linkend="glossary-aio">Asynchronous <acronym>I/O</acronym></link>

</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>

<term><acronym>I/O</acronym></term>

<listitem>

<para>

<link linkend="glossary-io">Input/Output</link>

</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>

<glossentry id="glossary-aio">

<glossterm>Asynchronous <acronym>I/O</acronym></glossterm>

<acronym>AIO</acronym>

<indexterm>

<primary>Asynchronous <acronym>I/O</acronym></primary>

</indexterm>

<glossdef>

<para>

Asynchronous <acronym>I/O</acronym> (<acronym>AIO</acronym>) describes

performing <acronym>I/O</acronym> in a non-blocking way (asynchronously),

in contrast to synchronous <acronym>I/O</acronym>, which blocks for the

entire duration of the <acronym>I/O</acronym>.

</para>

<para>

With <acronym>AIO</acronym>, starting an <acronym>I/O</acronym> operation

is separated from waiting for the result of the operation, allowing

multiple <acronym>I/O</acronym> operations to be initiated concurrently,

as well as performing <acronym>CPU</acronym> heavy operations

concurrently with <acronym>I/O</acronym>. The price for that increased

concurrency is increased complexity.

</para>

<glossseealso otherterm="glossary-io" />

</glossdef>

</glossentry>

<glossentry id="glossary-io">

<glossterm>Input/Output</glossterm>

<acronym>I/O</acronym>

<glossdef>

<para>

Input/Output (<acronym>I/O</acronym>) describes the communication between

a program and peripheral devices. In the context of database systems,

<acronym>I/O</acronym> commonly, but not exclusively, refers to

interaction with storage devices or the network.

</para>

<glossseealso otherterm="glossary-aio" />

</glossdef>

</glossentry>