Central processing unit

A central processing unit (CPU) (formerly also referred to as a central processor unit^[1]) is the hardware within a computer that carries out theinstructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetical, logical, andinput/output operations of the system. The term has been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s.^[2] The form, design, and implementation of CPUs have changed over the course of their history, but their fundamental operation remains much the same.