CPU

A Central Processing Unit (CPU), or occasionally just called processor, is a explanation of a class of logic machines that can perform computer programs. This broad definition can simply be applied to many early computers that existed long before the term "CPU" ever came into extensive usage. However, the term itself and its initialism have been in use in the computer business at least since the early 1960s. The form, design and execution of CPUs have changed noticeably since the earliest examples, but their essential operation has remained much the same.

Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, typically one-of-a-kind, computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular submission has largely given way to the development of mass-produced processors that are suited for one or many purposes. This homogeny trend generally began in the era of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has speedily accelerated with the popularization of the integrated circuit (IC). The IC has allowed increasingly complex CPUs to be intended and manufactured in very small spaces. Both the neatness and regularity of CPUs have increased the incidence of these digital devices in modern life far beyond the limited application of dedicated computing machines. Modern microprocessors appear in everything from automobiles to cell phones to children's toys.