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Parallel computing is the art of programming computers that have more than one processor. Some parallel computers are just regular workstations that have more than one processor in them; others are giant single computers with many processors (these are generally referred to as supercomputers); and others are networks of individual computers. A network of computers configured to coordinate on computing problems is also called a cluster. A parallel computer may be able to run programs much faster than a traditional single computer.
Programs that work on a single-processor computer don't automatically work on a parallel computer. The programmer must explicitly specify how to divide up the computing work between all of the available nodes. Information about writing programs especially for parallel computers is in Parallel_Computing/Programming. Many people have written libraries to help programmers write applications for parallel computers.
Parallel computing is a very similar field to distributed computing. Both types of computing involve breaking apart a problem into many pieces and assigning each part to a computer, but the nodes of a distributed computer normally not communicate with each other while performing their computations, because they may be great distances apart. Sites related to distributed computing are in Computers/Computer_Science/Distributed_Computing.
Information about supercomputers is located in Computers/Supercomputing.
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