scan
    n 1: the act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed
         region; "he made a thorough scan of the beach with his
         binoculars"
    2: an image produced by scanning; "he analyzed the brain scan";
       "you could see the tumor in the CAT scan" [syn: scan, CAT
       scan]
    v 1: examine minutely or intensely; "the surgeon scanned the
         X-ray"
    2: examine hastily; "She scanned the newspaper headlines while
       waiting for the taxi" [syn: scan, skim, rake, glance
       over, run down]
    3: make a wide, sweeping search of; "The beams scanned the night
       sky"
    4: conform to a metrical pattern
    5: move a light beam over; in electronics, to reproduce an image
    6: read metrically; "scan verses"
    7: obtain data from magnetic tapes; "This dictionary can be read
       by the computer" [syn: read, scan]

Scan \Scan\ (sk[a^]n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scanned (sk[a^]nd);
   p. pr. & vb. n. Scanning.] [L. scandere, scansum, to climb,
   to scan, akin to Skr. skand to spring, leap: cf. F. scander.
   Cf. Ascend, Descend, Scale a ladder.]
   1. To mount by steps; to go through with step by step. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            Nor stayed till she the highest stage had scand.
                                                  --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Specifically (Pros.), to go through with, as a verse,
      marking and distinguishing the feet of which it is
      composed; to show, in reading, the metrical structure of;
      to recite metrically.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To go over and examine point by point; to examine with
      care; to look closely at or into; to scrutinize.
      [1913 Webster]

            The actions of men in high stations are all
            conspicuous, and liable to be scanned and sifted.
                                                  --Atterbury.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To examine quickly, from point to point, in search of
      something specific; as, to scan an article for mention of
      a particular person.
      [PJC]

   5. (Electronics) To form an image or an electronic
      representation of, by passing a beam of light or electrons
      over, and detecting and recording the reflected or
      transmitted signal.
      [PJC]

SCAN
       Switched-Circuit Automatic Network
       

SCAN

   1. ["A Parallel Implementation of the SCAN Language",
   N.G. Bourbakis, Comp Langs 14(4):239-254 (1989)].

   2. A real-time language from DEC.

   [Are these the same language?]

   (1994-11-01)

scan

   1. (computer peripheral) See scanner.

   2. (circuit design) See scan design.

   3. (functional programming) See scanl, scanr.

   4.  An algorithm for scheduling multiple
   accesses to a disk.  A number of requests are ordered
   according to the data's position on the storage device.  This
   reduces the disk arm movement to one "scan" or sweep across
   the whole disk in the worst case.  The serivce time can be
   estimated from the disk's track-to-track seek time, maximum
   seek time (one scan), and maximum rotational latency.

   Scan-EDF is a variation on this.

   (1995-11-15)