Multiprocessing is the use of two or more central processing units (CPUs) within a single computer system. Relevant implementation and usage details vary per operating system and programming language. So always add tags for both the OS and language when using this tag.
Multiprocessing is the use of two or more central processing units (CPUs) within a single computer system. The term also refers to the ability of a system to support more than one processor and/or the ability to allocate tasks between them.
There are many variations on this basic theme, and the definition of multiprocessing can vary with context, mostly as a function of how CPUs are defined (multiple cores on one die, multiple dies in one package, multiple packages in one system unit, etc.).
Multiprocessing sometimes refers to the execution of multiple concurrent software processes in a system as opposed to a single process at any one instant. However, the terms multitasking or multiprogramming are more appropriate to describe this concept which is implemented mostly in software, whereas multiprocessing is more appropriate to describe the use of multiple hardware CPUs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiprocessing
Multiprocessing may also refer to the Python multiprocessing module, which is a package that supports spawning processes using an API similar to Python's threading module. It offers both local and remote concurrency, effectively side-stepping the limitations of the Global Interpreter Lock by using sub-processes instead of threads.
