Central processing unit

unit which performs data processing and controls all units of a computer, "brain" of a computer

A central processing unit (CPU), or sometimes simply processor, is the component in a digital computer capable of executing a program. It interprets computer program instructions and processes data. CPUs provide the fundamental digital computer trait of programmability, and are one of the necessary components found in computers of any era, along with primary storage and input/output facilities. A CPU that is manufactured as a single integrated circuit is usually known as a microprocessor. Beginning in the mid-1970s, microprocessors of ever-increasing complexity and power gradually supplanted other designs, and today the term "CPU" is usually applied to some type of microprocessor.
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Noun
1. (computer science) the part of a computer (a microprocessor chip) that does most of the data processing; the CPU and the memory form the central part of a computer to which the peripherals are attached
(synonym) CPU, C.P.U., central processor, processor, mainframe
(hypernym) electronic equipment
(part-holonym) computer, computing machine, computing device, data processor, electronic computer, information processing system
(part-meronym) CPU board, mother board
(classification) computer science, computing

See CPU.

<architecture, processor> (CPU, processor) The part of a computer which controls all the other parts. Designs vary widely but, in general, the CPU consists of the control unit, the arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) and memory (registers, cache, RAM and ROM) as well as various temporary buffers and other logic.
The control unit fetches instructions from memory and decodes them to produce signals which control the other part of the computer. This may cause it to transfer data between memory and ALU or to activate peripherals to perform input or output.
A parallel computer has several CPUs which may share other resources such as memory and peripherals.
The term "processor" has to some extent replaced "CPU", though RAM and ROM are not normally considered as part of a processor. This is particularly true of common modern microprocessors though there have been microprocessors which include RAM and/or ROM on the same integrated circuit.
The CPU Info Center lists many kinds of CPU.
(1998-10-21)