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:
“It’s a complex fate, being an American, and one of the responsibilities it entails is fighting against a superstitious valuation of Europe.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)
“I turn my gaze
Back to the instruction manual which has made me dream of
Guadalajara.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“Take two kids in competition for their parents’ love and attention. Add to that the envy that one child feels for the accomplishments of the other; the resentment that each child feels for the privileges of the other; the personal frustrations that they don’t dare let out on anyone else but a brother or sister, and it’s not hard to understand why in families across the land, the sibling relationship contains enough emotional dynamite to set off rounds of daily explosions.”
—Adele Faber (20th century)