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what is the difference between "processor (CPU)" and "microprocessor" in the sense of computer architecture? These terms confuse me.
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A microprocessor contains all of a CPU's functions and can perform arithmetic and logic operations with registers. However, a microprocessor's functions differ in some ways to a CPU. For example, a microprocessor can add, subtract, compare and fetch numbers within a system from one area to another.
A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry required to perform the functions of a computer's central processing unit.
The Microprocessor (MPU) is also known as Micro Processing Unit, it is the central unit of a computer system that performs arithmetic and logic operations. It also incorporates the function of a CPU on an integrated circuit.
The difference is purely historical. In the old days of lore, the CPU used to sit in a separate enclosure, like here:
A microprocessor is a particular implementation of processor which happens to fit in a single electronic component (chip) package:
Clearly, nowadays all processors are microprocessors, so the distinction is completely blurred.
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