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Vector processor
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Computing/Kghtm9fX">computing</a>, a vector processor or array processor is a <a href="/facts/Central_processing_unit/Jxp1bqMV">central processing unit</a> (CPU) that implements an <a href="/facts/Instruction_set/8p8vwUeE">instruction set</a> where its <a href="/facts/Instruction_(computer_science)/8p8vwUeE">instructions</a> are designed to operate efficiently and effectively on large <a href="/facts/Array_data_structure/BKGvF8AM">one-dimensional arrays</a> of data called <i>vectors</i>. This is in contrast to <a href="/facts/Scalar_processor/Rwma07cc">scalar processors</a>, whose instructions operate on single data items only, and in contrast to some of those same scalar processors having additional <a href="/facts/Single_instruction%2c_multiple_data/gQHWQSpo">single instruction, multiple data</a> (SIMD) or <a href="/facts/SIMD_within_a_register/sLzc6wcq">SIMD within a register</a> (SWAR) Arithmetic Units. Vector processors can greatly improve performance on certain workloads, notably <a href="/facts/Numerical_simulation/Re6o8vzN">numerical simulation</a>, <a href="/facts/Data_compression/gMFuY4FT">compression</a> and similar tasks. Vector processing techniques also operate in <a href="/facts/Video_game_console/K72D1NSS">video-game console</a> hardware and in <a href="/facts/Graphics_accelerator/PTK1RQVp">graphics accelerators</a>. </p><p>Vector machines appeared in the early 1970s and dominated <a href="/facts/Supercomputer/HT9NwGAN">supercomputer</a> design through the 1970s into the 1990s, notably the various <a href="/facts/Cray/coAlupuy">Cray</a> platforms. The rapid fall in the <a href="/facts/Price-to-performance_ratio/8BrRhsG9">price-to-performance ratio</a> of conventional <a href="/facts/Microprocessor/Fx9CaQht">microprocessor</a> designs led to a decline in vector supercomputers during the 1990s. </p>