Parallel computing is the idea that large problems can be split into smaller tasks, and these tasks are independent of each other running '''simultaneously''' on '''more than one''' processor. This concept is different from concurrent programming, which is the composition of multiple processes that may begin and end at different times, but are managed by the host system’s task scheduler which frequently '''switches between them'''. This gives off the illusion of multi-tasking as multiple tasks are '''in progress''' on a '''single''' processor. Concurrent computing can occur on both single and multi-core processors, whereas parallel computing takes advantage of distributing the workload across multiple physical processors. Thus, parallel computing is hardware-dependent.

=== Transition from Single to Multi-Core ===