processing

processing

Manipulating data within the computer. For an explanation of how the computer processes data, see computer and review "The 3 C's." "Processing" is appended to a variety of terms, but the word itself always implies "performing" or "doing work" by means of a computer or computer-based device. See centralized processing, distributed processing, batch processing, transaction processing and multiprocessing.

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processing [′prä‚ses·iŋ]

(communications)

Further handling, manipulation, consolidation, compositing, and so on, of information to convert it from one format to another or to reduce it to manageable or intelligible information.

(engineering)

The act of converting material from one form into another desired form.

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(data processing, signal processing)

processing - Performing some predefined sequence of operations on an input to produce an output or change of internal state; activity specifically involving the computer's CPU. The term is often qualified: "data processing" treats digital data, "signal processing" treats analog data (possibly in digital form), "word processing" takes in typed human language input and produces digital documents, image processing transforms digital images.