In-memory processing

The term is used for two different things:

1. In computer science, in-memory processing (PIM) is a computer architecture in which data operations are available directly on the data memory, rather than having to be transferred to CPU registers first. This may improve the power usage and performance of moving data between the processor and the main memory.
2. In software engineering, in-memory processing is a software architecture where a database is kept entirely in random-access memory (RAM) or flash memory so that usual accesses, in particular read or query operations, do not require access to disk storage. This may allow faster data operations such as "joins", and faster reporting and decision-making in business.

Extremely large datasets may be divided between co-operating systems as in-memory data grids.