Processor may refer to:

Computing

Hardware

Central processing unit A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, an ...

(CPU), the hardware within a computer that executes a program ***

Microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

, a central processing unit contained on a single

integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

(IC) ****

Application-specific instruction set processor An application-specific instruction set processor (ASIP) is a component used in system on a chip design. The instruction set architecture of an ASIP is tailored to benefit a specific application. This specialization of the core provides a tradeo ...

(ASIP), a component used in system-on-a-chip design ****

Graphics processing unit A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...

(GPU), a processor designed for doing dedicated graphics-rendering computations ****

Physics processing unit A physics processing unit (PPU) is a dedicated microprocessor designed to handle the calculations of physics, especially in the physics engine of video games. It is an example of hardware acceleration. Examples of calculations involving a PPU mig ...

(PPU), a dedicated microprocessor designed to handle the calculations of physics ****

Digital signal processor A digital signal processor (DSP) is a specialized microprocessor chip, with its architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal processing. DSPs are fabricated on MOS integrated circuit chips. They are widely used in audio si ...

(DSP), a specialized microprocessor designed specifically for digital signal processing ***** Image processor, a specialized DSP used for image processing in digital cameras, mobile phones or other devices **** Neural processing unit (NPU), a class of specialized

hardware accelerator Hardware acceleration is the use of computer hardware designed to perform specific functions more efficiently when compared to software running on a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU). Any function (mathematics), transformation of d ...

or computer system designed to accelerate

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

and

machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence. Machine ...

applications, including

artificial neural networks Artificial neural networks (ANNs), usually simply called neural networks (NNs) or neural nets, are computing systems inspired by the biological neural networks that constitute animal brains. An ANN is based on a collection of connected unit ...

and machine vision ****

Vision processing unit A vision processing unit (VPU) is (as of 2018) an emerging class of microprocessor; it is a specific type of AI accelerator, designed to accelerate machine vision tasks. Overview Vision processing units are distinct from video processing units ...

(VPU), an emerging () class of

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

; it is a specific type of

AI accelerator An AI accelerator is a class of specialized hardware accelerator or computer system designed to accelerate artificial intelligence and machine learning applications, including artificial neural networks and machine vision. Typical applications in ...

, designed to accelerate machine vision tasks ****

Tensor Processing Unit Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) is an AI accelerator application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) developed by Google for Artificial neural network, neural network machine learning, using Google's own TensorFlow software. Google began using TPUs ...

(TPU), an

application-specific integrated circuit An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficie ...

(ASIC) developed by

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

for

neural network A neural network is a network or circuit of biological neurons, or, in a modern sense, an artificial neural network, composed of artificial neurons or nodes. Thus, a neural network is either a biological neural network, made up of biological ...

, using Google's own TensorFlow software. ****

Quantum processor Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...

, a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

that takes advantage of quantum mechanical phenomena. At small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of both particles and waves, and quantum computing leverages this behavior, specifically quantum superposition and entanglement, using specialized hardware that supports the preparation and manipulation of

quantum states In quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical entity that provides a probability distribution for the outcomes of each possible measurement in quantum mechanics, measurement on a system. Knowledge of the quantum state together with the rul ...

. ****

Coprocessor A coprocessor is a computer processor used to supplement the functions of the primary processor (the CPU). Operations performed by the coprocessor may be floating-point arithmetic, graphics, signal processing, string processing, cryptography o ...

****

Floating-point unit In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can b ...

****

Network processor A network processor is an integrated circuit which has a feature set specifically targeted at the networking application domain. Network processors are typically software programmable devices and would have generic characteristics similar to gene ...

, a microprocessor specifically targeted at the networking application domain **

Multi-core processor A multi-core processor is a microprocessor on a single integrated circuit with two or more separate processing units, called cores, each of which reads and executes program instructions. The instructions are ordinary CPU instructions (such a ...

, single component with two or more independent CPUs (called "cores") on the same chip carrier or on the same die **

Front-end processor A front end processor (FEP), or a communications processor, is a small-sized computer which interfaces to the host computer a number of networks, such as SNA, or a number of peripheral devices, such as terminals, disk units, printers and tap ...

, a helper processor for communication between a host computer and other devices

Software

Word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Word processor (electronic device), Early word processors were stand-alone devices ded ...

, a computer application used for the production of potentially printable material * Document processor, a computer application that superficially resembles a word processor—but emphasizes the visual layout of the document's components

Systems

* Data processing system, a combination of machines, people, and processes that for a set of inputs produces a defined set of outputs *

Information system An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...

, a system composed of people and computers that processes or interprets information

Other

Firewood processor A firewood processor is a machine designed to cut and split firewood with minimal manual handling of the logs. There are typically four main parts of the machine, each dedicated to a separate function. Processing begins with a log pile – a pil ...

, a machine designed to cut and split firewood * Food processor, an appliance used to facilitate repetitive tasks in the preparation of food

Computing

Hardware

Software

Systems

Other

See also