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A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processing unit, or simply a processor, is an electronic circuit in a computer that executes the instructions that make up a computer program. The processor performs basic arithmetic, logical, control and I/O operations specified in the program instructions. In the computer industry, the term “central processing unit” has been used since 1955. Traditionally, the term “CPU” refers to a processor, in particular to its processor and control unit (CU), distinguishing between these basic elements of a computer. From external components such as main memory and I/O circuitry.
The shape, design, and implementation of processors have changed throughout their history, but their core work remains mostly unchanged. The main components of a processor include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that performs arithmetic and logical operations, processor registers that deliver operands to the ALU and store the results of ALU operations, and a control unit that orchestrates the fetching (from memory) and execution of instructions by managing the consistent operations of ALUs, registers, and other components.
Most modern processors are microprocessors in which the processor is housed in a single chip with a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) integrated circuit (IC). The IC that contains the processor may also contain memory, peripheral interfaces, and other computer components; such integrated devices are otherwise referred to as microcontrollers or chip systems (SoCs). Some computers use a multi-core processor, which is a single chip, or “socket,” containing two or more processors, called “cores”.
Array processors or vector processors have multiple processors operate in parallel, with none of the units considered central. Virtual processors are an abstraction of dynamically aggregated computing resources. Early computers such as the ENIAC had to be physically redirected to perform various tasks, which is why these machines were called “fixed program computers.” Since the term “CPU” is usually defined as a device for executing software (computer program), the earliest devices that can rightly be called processors appeared with the advent of the computer with a stored program.
The idea of a computer with a stored program was already present in the project of J. Presper Eckert and ENIAC by John William Mauchly’s, but was initially dropped so that it could be finished sooner. On June 30, 1945, prior to the creation of ENIAC, mathematician John von Neumann circulated a document entitled “First Draft Report on EDVAC”. It was a schematic diagram of a computer with a saved program that would eventually be completed in August 1949. EDVAC was designed to carry out a number of different types of instructions (or operations). Remarkably, the programs written for EDVAC had to be stored in the memory of the high-speed computer rather than specified by the physical wiring of the computer.