Pipelining
Pipelining is a technique used in computer architecture and software engineering to improve throughput by breaking down a process into a series of sequential stages, allowing multiple tasks to be processed concurrently. In hardware, it enables CPUs to execute multiple instructions simultaneously by overlapping their fetch, decode, execute, and write-back phases. In software, it refers to chaining operations where the output of one stage becomes the input to the next, commonly used in data processing and CI/CD workflows.
Developers should learn pipelining to optimize performance in systems where latency or throughput is critical, such as in high-performance computing, real-time data processing, or automated deployment pipelines. It's essential for understanding modern CPU design, building efficient data pipelines in tools like Apache Airflow or Jenkins, and implementing scalable software architectures that handle concurrent tasks without bottlenecks.