| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| RISC processor |
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| [Reduced Instruction Set Computer], computer arithmetic-logic unit that uses a minimal instruction set, emphasizing the instructions used most often and optimizing them for the fastest possible execution. Software for RISC processors must handle more operations than traditional CISC [Complex Instruction Set Computer] processors, but RISC processors have advantages in applications that benefit from faster instruction execution, such as engineering and graphics workstations and parallel-processing systems. They are also less costly to design, test, and manufacture. In the mid-1990s RISC processors began to be used in personal computers instead of the CISC processors that had been used since the introduction of the microprocessor. | 1 | | See D. Tabak, RISC Systems (1990); M. Slater, A Guide to RISC Microprocessors (1992). | 2 |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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