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The [[central processing unit]] (CPU) of a computer is what manipulates data by performing computations. In practice, almost all computers use a [[storage hierarchy]],<ref name="Patterson"/>{{rp|468–473}} which puts fast but expensive and small storage options close to the CPU and slower but less expensive and larger options further away. Generally, the fast{{efn|Most contemporary computers use volatile technologies (which lose data when power is off); early computers used both volatile and persistent technologies.}} technologies are referred to as "memory", while slower persistent technologies are referred to as "storage".
Even the first computer designs, [[Charles Babbage]]'s [[Analytical Engine]] and [[Percy Ludgate]]'s Analytical Machine, clearly distinguished between processing and memory (Babbage stored numbers as rotations of gears, while Ludgate stored numbers as displacements of rods in shuttles). This distinction was extended in the [[Von Neumann architecture]], where the CPU consists of two main parts: The [[control unit]] and the [[arithmetic logic unit]] (ALU). The former controls the flow of data between the CPU and memory, while the latter performs arithmetic and [[Bitwise operation|logical operations]] on data.
== Functionality ==
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