Flynn's taxonomy

(architecture)

Flynn's taxonomy - A classification of computer architectures based on the number of streams of instructions and data: Single instruction/single data stream (SISD) - a sequential computer. Multiple instruction/single data stream (MISD) - unusual. Single instruction/multiple data streams (SIMD) - e.g. an array processor. Multiple instruction/multiple data streams (MIMD) - multiple autonomous processors simultaneously executing different instructions on different data. [Flynn, M. J., "Some Computer Organizations and Their Effectiveness", IEEE Transactions on Computing C-21, No. 9, Sep 1972, pp 948-960]. ["A Survey of Parallel Computer Architectures", Duncan, Ralph, IEEE Computer, Feb 1990, pp 5-16].