array processor

array processor

[ə′rā ′präs‚es·ər]

(computer science)

A multiprocessor composed of a set of identical central processing units acting synchronously under the control of a common unit.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

array processor

(processor)

(Or "vector processor") A computer, or extension to its arithmetic unit, that is capable of performing simultaneous computations on elements of an array or table of data in some number of dimensions.

The IBM AltiVec (the "Velocity Engine" used in the Apple G4 computers) is a vector processor.

Common uses for array processors include analysis of fluid dynamics and rotation of 3d objects, as well as data retrieval, in which elements of a database are scanned simultaneously. Array processors are very rare now (1998).

Array presentation.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

vector processor

A CPU that performs computations on more than one number or set of data simultaneously. A vector processor is known as a "single instruction stream multiple data stream" (SIMD) CPU. Contrast with scalar processor. See GPU, vector and pipeline processing.

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