Editing Microprocessor (section)

{{Short description|Computer processor contained on an integrated-circuit chip}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2022}}

[[File:TI TMS1000NLL 1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Texas Instruments [[Texas Instruments TMS1000|TMS1000]]]]
[[File:C4004 two lines.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Intel 4004]] ]]
[[File:Motorola XC6800A 1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Motorola 6800]] (MC6800)]]
[[File:Scan des AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X 20240407 075.jpg|thumb|A modern [[64-bit]] [[x86-64]] processor (AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X, based on [[Zen 4]], 2023)]]
[[File:AMD Ryzen 7 1800X.jpg|thumb|AMD Ryzen 7 1800X (2017, based on [[Zen (microarchitecture)|Zen]]) processor in an [[socket AM4|AM4]] socket on a motherboard]]

A '''microprocessor''' is a [[computer]] [[processor (computing)|processor]] for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single [[integrated circuit]] (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry required to perform the functions of a computer's [[central processing unit]] (CPU). The IC is capable of interpreting and executing program instructions and performing arithmetic operations.<ref>{{cite web |last=Orion |first=Veritas |date=2024-08-23 |title=What distinguishes a microprocessor from a microcontroller? |url=https://www.ampheo.com/blog/microprocessor-vs-microcontroller-comparison |website=Ampheo Electronics |publisher=Orion Veritas}}</ref> The microprocessor is a multipurpose, [[Clock signal|clock]]-driven, [[Processor register|register]]-based, [[digital integrated circuit]] that accepts [[binary code|binary]] data as input, processes it according to [[instruction (computing)|instruction]]s stored in its [[computer memory|memory]], and provides results (also in binary form) as output. Microprocessors contain both [[combinational logic]] and [[sequential logic|sequential digital logic]], and operate on numbers and symbols represented in the [[binary number]] system.

The integration of a whole CPU onto a single or a few integrated circuits using [[Very-Large-Scale Integration]] (VLSI) greatly reduced the cost of processing power. Integrated circuit processors are produced in large numbers by highly automated [[metal–oxide–semiconductor]] (MOS) [[semiconductor device fabrication|fabrication processes]], resulting in a relatively low [[unit price]]. Single-chip processors increase reliability because there are fewer electrical connections that can fail. As [[Processor design|microprocessor designs]] improve, the cost of manufacturing a chip (with smaller components built on a semiconductor chip the same size) generally stays the same according to [[Rock's law]].

Before microprocessors, small computers had been built using racks of [[circuit board]]s with many [[medium-scale integration|medium-]] and [[small-scale integration|small-scale integrated circuits]], typically of [[Transistor–transistor logic|TTL]] type. Microprocessors combined this into one or a few [[large-scale integration|large-scale]] ICs. While there is disagreement over who deserves credit for the invention of the microprocessor, the first commercially available microprocessor was the [[Intel 4004]], designed by [[Federico Faggin]] and introduced in 1971.<ref name = "IEEE">{{cite web | url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-surprising-story-of-the-first-microprocessors | title=The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors | date=30 August 2016 | access-date=4 October 2022 | archive-date=4 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004011825/https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-surprising-story-of-the-first-microprocessors | url-status=live }}</ref>

Continued increases in microprocessor capacity have since rendered other forms of computers almost completely obsolete (see [[history of computing hardware]]), with one or more microprocessors used in everything from the smallest [[embedded system]]s and [[handheld device]]s to the largest [[mainframe]]s and [[supercomputer]]s.

A microprocessor is distinct from a [[microcontroller]] including a [[system on a chip]].<ref name="Warnes 2003 pp. 443–477">{{cite book | last=Warnes | first=Lionel | title=Electronic and Electrical Engineering | chapter=Microprocessors and microcontrollers | publisher=Macmillan Education UK | publication-place=London | date=2003 | isbn=978-0-333-99040-7 | doi=10.1007/978-0-230-21633-4_23 | pages=443–477 | quote=microprocessor is not a stand-alone computer, since it lacks memory and input/output control. These are the missing parts that the microcontroller supplies, making it more nearly a complete computer on a chip.}}</ref> A microprocessor is related but distinct from a [[digital signal processor]], a specialized microprocessor chip, with its architecture optimized for the operational needs of [[digital signal processing]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Yovits |editor-first1=Marshall C. |last1=Dyer |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Harms |first2=Brian K. |chapter=Digital Signal Processing |title=Advances in Computers |date=1993-08-13 |volume=37 |pages=59{{hyphen}}118 |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |doi=10.1016/S0065-2458(08)60403-9 |isbn=978-0120121373 |issn=0065-2458 |lccn=59015761 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vL-bB7GALAwC&pg=PA104 |ol=OL10070096M |oclc=858439915 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>{{rp|pages=104{{hyphen}}107}}<ref name="Liptak">{{cite book |last=Liptak |first=B. G. |title=Process Control and Optimization |series=Instrument Engineers' Handbook |edition=4th |year=2006 |volume=2 |pages=11–12 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0849310812 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TxKynbyaIAMC&pg=PA11 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>