Computer processor which works on arrays of several numbers at once
Also known as array processor
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In computing, a vector processor is a central processing unit (CPU) that implements an instruction set where its instructions are designed to operate efficiently and architecturally sequentially on large one-dimensional arrays of data called vectors. When integrated as a hardware component the vector processor is often called a vector processing unit (VPU). This is in contrast to scalar processors, whose instructions operate on single data items only, and in contrast to some of those same scalar processors having additional single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) or SIMD within a register (SWAR) Arithmetic Units. Vector processors can greatly improve performance on certain workloads, notably numerical simulation, compression and similar tasks.