A microprocessor (µP, MPU) is a device that implements the core elements of a computer system on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. Modern microprocessors typically incorporate the functionality of a clock, central processing unit (CPU), arithmetic logic unit (ALU), control unit (CU), memory interfaces, interrupts, input/output interfaces, and cache. Specialized microprocessor may also serve as or include graphical processing units (GPUs), signal processing units (DSPs), memory, and various converters.

History

Main article: history of the microprocessor

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Functionality

In the broadest sense, the basic functionality of a microprocessor is to continuously read in digital data consisting of instructions and possibly values; executes them by interpreting the instructions and performing a certain operation on the values; and finally outputs a result.

While the basic functionality is shared among all microprocessors, they vary greatly in the type and size of data they handle, the kind of operations they support, how they perform those operations, their intended purpose, and their performance characteristics.

Classification

Most microprocessors can be classified as one of the follow:

• general-purpose microprocessors - the most common form of microprocessors, not designed for any one specific task in mind. Instead they are designed to support a broad array of operations.
• system on chip (SoC) - a microprocessor that contains all the components of a computer system, including the extra functionality that would normally be provided by auxiliary chips, which could include things such as wireless, ethernet, SD card, ADC, DAC, LCD drivers, and FPGA. SoCs are capable of running full-fledged modern operating systems with all their features.
• microcontroller (MCU) - a microprocessor that contains a few additional components such as RAM, ROM, and programmable I/O ports primarily designed to control and drive other electronic equipment. MCUs are designed to be embedded, usually in a highly restrictive environment. They usually consume very little power, may run relatively slow, and typically execute individual task-specific programs.
• graphics processing unit (GPU) - is a graphic microprocessor - a microprocessor that specializes in the creation and manipulation of images through an array of optimize geometric operations. Modern graphic microprocessors tend to be highly parallelized, allowing large blocks of visual data to be processed efficiently.
• digital signal processor (DSP) - a microprocessor that specializes in the numerical manipulation of signals.

Some microprocessors can be a hybrid combinations of a few of the above. For example, a general-purpose microprocessor might come with an integrated GPU, implying an additional graphic processing unit has been added to the microprocessor to enable it to manipulate visual data more efficiently.

Architecture

Main articles: architecture, microarchitecture, and instruction set architecture

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Computational power

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See also

• List of processor families

References

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