Complex Instruction Set Computing

A complex instruction set computer (CISC, /ˈsɪsk/) is a computer where single instructions can execute several low-level operations (such as a load from memory, an arithmetic operation, and a memory store) and/or are capable of multi-step operations or addressing modes within single instructions. The term was retroactively coined in contrast to reduced instruction set computer (RISC).

Examples of CISC instruction set architectures are System/360 through z/Architecture, PDP-11, VAX, Motorola 68k, and x86.

Famous quotes containing the words complex, instruction and/or set:

    Specialization is a feature of every complex organization, be it social or natural, a school system, garden, book, or mammalian body.
    Catharine R. Stimpson (b. 1936)

    One year, I’d completely lost my bearings trying to follow potty training instruction from a psychiatric expert. I was stuck on step on, which stated without an atom of irony: “Before you begin, remove all stubbornness from the child.” . . . I knew it only could have been written by someone whose suit coat was still spotless at the end of the day, not someone who had any hands-on experience with an actual two-year-old.
    Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)

    O, he’s drunk, Sir Toby, an hour agone; his eyes were set at eight i’ th’ morning.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)