also hotspot (hot spots)

1. (primarily used by C/Unix programmers, but spreading) It is received wisdom that in most programs, less than 10% of the code eats 90% of the execution time; if one were to graph instruction visits versus code addresses, one would typically see a few huge spikes amidst a lot of low-level noise. Such spikes are called "hot spots" and are good candidates for heavy optimisation or hand-hacking. The term is especially used of tight loops and recursions in the code's central algorithm, as opposed to (say) initial set-up costs or large but infrequent I/O operations. See tune, bum, hand-hacking. 2. The active location of a cursor on a bit-map display. "Put the mouse's hot spot on the "ON" widget and click the left button." 3. A screen region that is sensitive to mouse clicks, which trigger some action. Hypertext help screens are an example, in which a hot spot exists in the vicinity of any word for which additional material is available. 4. In a massively parallel computer with shared memory, the one location that all 10,000 processors are trying to read or write at once (perhaps because they are all doing a busy-wait on the same lock). 5. More generally, any place in a hardware design that turns into a performance bottleneck due to resource contention. [Jargon File] (1995-02-16)

A hot spot in computer science is most usually defined as a region of a computer program where a high proportion of executed instructions occur or where most time is spent during the program's execution (not necessarily the same thing since some instructions are faster than others).

Hot Spot is a musical with the book by Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, lyrics by Martin Charnin, music by Mary Rodgers, and additional lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It had a brief run on Broadway in 1963.

Hot Spot is an infrared imaging system used in cricket to determine whether the ball has struck the batsman, bat or pad. Hot Spot requires two infrared cameras on opposite sides of the ground above the field of play that are continuously recording an image.

Pyotraumatic dermatitis, also known as a hot spot or acute moist dermatitis, is a common infection of the skin surface of dogs, particularly those with thick or long coats. It occurs following self-inflicted trauma of the skin.

Isaiah Crockett (currently known as Hot Spot, formerly Joto, and originally named Slagger, Issaiah) is a fictional character in publications from DC Comics. The character is a superhero and a former member of the Teen Titans.

SPOT is an annual music festival in the city of Aarhus, Denmark, showcasing up-and-coming Danish and Scandinavian talent. Close to two hundred artists and bands from most genres of contemporary popular music - such as rock, hip hop and electronic music - play various stages across town, centered around the Academy of Music and concert halls of Musikhuset.