What is a defining feature of a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC)?

A defining feature of a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) is its ability to require multiple steps per operation. CISC architectures are designed to execute more complex instructions that can perform multiple operations within a single instruction. This is in contrast to Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) architectures, which use a simpler instruction set and typically require the execution of multiple instructions to perform the same tasks.

Because CISC processors support a wide range of addressing modes and complex instructions, they can condense several operations into one instruction cycle. This design philosophy allows CISC systems to minimize the number of instructions that a programmer needs to use while increasing the workload that each instruction can handle. As a result, CISC systems can be more efficient for certain tasks, particularly when it comes to high-level language constructs that map directly to complex machine instructions.