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Computer processing is the execution of instructions by a CPU, which performs mathematical and logical operations through binary electrical states. The four stages of processing are fetch, decrypt, execute, and writeback. Processing cycles increase in speed with advanced technology, with one gigahertz cycle equaling 1 billion instructions per second.
Computer processing is an action or series of actions that a microprocessor, also known as a central processing unit (CPU), in a computer performs when it receives information. The CPU is a type of electronic “brain” for a computer system and executes a series of instructions given to it by software programs installed on a computer’s hard drive and loaded into random access memory (RAM). While modern computer systems have gotten much faster and more complex than their earlier counterparts, they still perform the same kind of basic processing.
At their basic level of operation, CPUs consist of an array of transistors that through a series of binary electrical states of 1s and 0s – or “on” and “off” states – perform mathematical and logical operations that together add up to computer processing capabilities. Instructions given to a CPU by a software program alter the states of these transistors to perform calculations for the software program. These results are then typically written back into RAM memory for use by the software program.
There are four distinct states that processing goes through to produce meaningful data output for any program. These states are commonly called fetch, decrypt, execute, and writeback. Fetch is the first state, where the computer accesses its memory to fetch instructions, which are always a series of numbers represented by a binary code. The binary code is a series of eight-bit digits — strings of 1s and 0s — that together represent a “byte” of data.
After retrieving these instructions, computer processing decodes them. That is, the instructions are now split into significant chunks or ranges of bytes by the CPU’s control unit (CU). These instructions are then executed by the CU.
When the instructions are complex mathematical calculations, the CPU draws on its arithmetic logic unit (ALU) to perform them. In the final stage of computer processing, a data writeback occurs. It is funneled back into computer memory for use by the software program, or it can be stored in memory registers within the CPU itself for later use by the program.
These four stages of processing pass through the CPU continuously, as long as a software program is loaded into memory and running on the computer itself. These CPU processing power cycles continually increase in speed as computer systems become more advanced, with computers now capable of gigahertz processing cycles. One gigahertz cycle of computer processing is the equivalent of 1 billion sets of instructions executed by the CPU every second.
