PROCESSOR
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2661 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
A device that operates a specific transformation within a system or an exchange between the system and its environment.
This notion, introduced by J.L.LE MOIGNE, corresponds approximately to the concept of critical subsystem of J.G. MILLER and somewhat less so to J. FORRESTER's gates.(1973).
LE MOIGNE states: “The elemental processor can be identified in a general way by various characteristics whose definition shall frequently guide the model builder: In ”extensity“, it can be recognized by its capacity (of storage, transportation, production) or its power; in intensity by its output, or its level, or its efficacity, or its yield (a numerical relation between the output and the input at a given moment), or by its efficiency (a relation, possibly even qualitative, between its observed behavior and the hoped for behavior)” (1977, p.79).
LE MOIGNE observes that :“A priori an elemental processor may well process various kinds of flows: various inputs and various outputs. It may also be affected by different fields, which may influence the stability in time of its behaviors” (Ibid).