CPU Full Form - What is the Full Form CPU?

CPU full form is Central Processing Unit, which is a commonly used term in the computer industry. In the simplest terms, the CPU is the lifeline of a computer. Though it makes an integral part of the device, people still get confused when asked about the full form of the CPU. If you also keep wondering about the CPU's full form, functionality, history, and other details, get answers to all your questions here.  

What is the full form of CPU?

The full form of the CPU is the Central Processing Unit. For most people, the CPU is a primary unit for computers. Important parts of the CPU are the main memory, control unit, and arithmetic-logic unit. Not just the computer/monitor, the CPU is connected to various other equipment as well including the keyboard, music, printer, and other input/output devices. It is also connected to the auxiliary storage units. Modern devices are designed with a microprocessor, which actually is an integrated circuit chip having the CPU. Chip, processor, central processor, processing device, and main processor are some other names used for the CPU. 

CPU Highlights

What are the uses of the CPU?

In today's time, the CPU is not just limited to computers. Now, it has become one of the primary units for several other electronic devices including smartphones, notebooks, gaming consoles, and tablets, to name a few. 

In simple terms, the CPU, the full form of which is the Central Process Unit is the brain of a computer. An electronic gadget's CPU calculates and interprets the instructions given by the user while surfing the web, playing games, and running apps or software programs. Other important uses of CPU include: 

• Carry out instructions and guide the operation of other hardware devices
• Processing data by receiving data input and providing data output
• Controlling all other units of a computer

Various Types Of CPU

There are mainly three types of CPU including

1. Transistor Type
2. Small Scale Integration Type
3. Large Scale Integration Type

In users' language, CPU is classified as single-core, dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, and octa-core. Multi-core CPUs are designed to make them faster and perform multitasking more effectively. 

• Single Core CPU: The oldest type of CPU used in computers is the single core. These have a single core to process multiple operations. Single Core CPUs are designed to process only one operation at a time. 
• Dual Core CPU: As the name suggests, the quad-core CPU has two processors in a single circuit or chip. These CPUs can multitask more efficiently and quickly as compared to single-core CPUs. 
• Quad Core CPU: These CPUs are designed with two dual-core processors. The chip in a quad-core processor has four independent units to read and execute various instructions. 

Components of CPU

The design of CPUs might vary for various gadgets, but the main components remain the same. These are

Control Unit

This is the main component of the CPU and the center of all the processing activities. It handles all the operations and activities of a computer such as processing execution sequence, memory handling, and a lot more. 

Arithmetic Logic Unit

Another essential component of the CPU is ALU which plays a vital role in mathematical, logical, comparison-based, and decision-making processes. 

Memory Unit

Also referred to as the built-in memory of the CPU, the is memory located in the CPU as caches and registers. This is the smallest and fastest memory of a computer or other devices it is used in. The main function of this memory is to store input data, instructions, running data, and running results. 

How does the CPU work?

CPU is basically a processor made from the arithmetical logical unit and control unit. In short:

CPU= ALU (Arithmetical Logical Unit) + CU (Control Unit)

No matter how many technological advancements the CPU has gone through, the primary function of the device hasn't changed. It still works in three steps: fetch, decode and execute. 

Fetch

This step involves fetching or receiving instructions as a series of numbers from RAM. 

Decode

The next step is to convert the instructions, which the CPU does by passing them to a circuit known as the instruction decoder. With the help of the instructor decoder, the instructions are converted into commands. 

Execute

The final step in the process is to send the decoded instructions to different parts of the CPU to further write the results to a CPU register.