ALL meanings of parallel processing
par·al·lel proc·ess
P p - verb with object parallel processing to go or be in a parallel course, direction, etc., to: The road parallels the river. 1
- verb with object parallel processing to form a parallel to; be equivalent to; equal. 1
- verb with object parallel processing to show the identity or similarity of; compare. 1
- verb with object parallel processing to make parallel. 1
- noun Technical meaning of parallel processing
(Or "multiprocessing") The simultaneous use of more than one computer to solve a problem. There are many different kinds of parallel computer (or "parallel processor"). They are distinguished by the kind of interconnection between processors (known as "processing elements" or PEs) and between processors and memory. Flynn's taxonomy also classifies parallel (and serial) computers according to whether all processors execute the same instructions at the same time ("single instruction/multiple data" - SIMD) or each processor executes different instructions ("multiple instruction/multiple data" - MIMD). The processors may either communicate in order to be able to cooperate in solving a problem or they may run completely independently, possibly under the control of another processor which distributes work to the others and collects results from them (a "processor farm"). The difficulty of cooperative problem solving is aptly demonstrated by the following dubious reasoning: If it takes one man one minute to dig a post-hole then sixty men can dig it in one second. Amdahl's Law states this more formally. Processors communicate via some kind of network or bus or a combination of both. Memory may be either shared memory (all processors have equal access to all memory) or private (each processor has its own memory - "distributed memory") or a combination of both. Many different software systems have been designed for programming parallel computers, both at the operating system and programming language level. These systems must provide mechanisms for partitioning the overall problem into separate tasks and allocating tasks to processors. Such mechanisms may provide either implicit parallelism - the system (the compiler or some other program) partitions the problem and allocates tasks to processors automatically or explicit parallelism where the programmer must annotate his program to show how it is to be partitioned. It is also usual to provide synchronisation primitives such as semaphores and monitors to allow processes to share resources without conflict. Communication between tasks may be either via shared memory or message passing. Either may be implemented in terms of the other and in fact, at the lowest level, shared memory uses message passing since the address and data signals which flow between processor and memory may be considered as messages. The terms "parallel processing" and "multiprocessing" imply multiple processors working on one task whereas "concurrent processing" and "multitasking" imply a single processor sharing its time between several tasks. See also cellular automaton,symmetric multi-processing. 1 - noun parallel processing IT 1
- adjective parallel processing extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging: parallel rows of trees. 1
- adjective parallel processing having the same direction, course, nature, or tendency; corresponding; similar; analogous: Canada and the U.S. have many parallel economic interests. 1
- adjective parallel processing Geometry. (of straight lines) lying in the same plane but never meeting no matter how far extended. (of planes) having common perpendiculars. (of a single line, plane, etc.) equidistant from another or others (usually followed by to or with). 1
- adjective parallel processing Electricity. consisting of or having component parts connected in parallel: a parallel circuit. 1
- adjective parallel processing Music. (of two voice parts) progressing so that the interval between them remains the same. (of a tonality or key) having the same tonic but differing in mode. 1
- adjective parallel processing Computers. of or relating to the apparent or actual performance of more than one operation at a time, by the same or different devices (distinguished from serial): Some computer systems join more than one CPU for parallel processing. of or relating to the simultaneous transmission or processing of all the parts of a whole, as all the bits of a byte or all the bytes of a computer word (distinguished from serial). 1
- noun parallel processing a parallel line or plane. 1
- noun parallel processing anything parallel or comparable in direction, course, nature, or tendency to something else. 1
- noun parallel processing Also called parallel of latitude. Geography. an imaginary circle on the earth's surface formed by the intersection of a plane parallel to the plane of the equator, bearing east and west and designated in degrees of latitude north or south of the equator along the arc of any meridian. the line representing this circle on a chart or map. 1
- noun parallel processing something identical or similar in essential respects; match; counterpart: a case history without a known parallel. 1
- noun parallel processing correspondence or analogy: These two cases have some parallel with each other. 1
- noun parallel processing a comparison of things as if regarded side by side. 1
- noun parallel processing Electricity. an arrangement of the components, as resistances, of a circuit in such a way that all positive terminals are connected to one point and all negative terminals are connected to a second point, the same voltage being applied to each component. Compare series (def 9). 1
- noun parallel processing Fortification. a trench cut in the ground before a fortress, parallel to its defenses, for the purpose of covering a besieging force. 1
- noun parallel processing Printing. a pair of vertical parallel lines (‖) used as a mark for reference. 1
- noun parallel processing Theater. a trestle for supporting a platform (parallel top) 1
- verb with object parallel processing to provide or show a parallel for; match. 1
- uncountable noun parallel processing In computing, parallel processing is a system in which several instructions are carried out at the same time instead of one after the other. 0
- noun parallel processing the performance by a computer system of two or more simultaneous operations 0