What is Parallel Computing ?

Parallel Computing is the management of a collection of serial tasks

where:
management refers to the policies by which
(a) tasks are scheduled,
(b) premature terminations are handled,
(c) preemptive support is provided,
(d) communication primitives are enabled/disabled, and
(e) the manner in which resources are obtained and released,

and

serial tasks are classified in terms of either
(a) Coarse grain -- where tasks may not communicate prior to conclusion, or
(b) Fine grain -- where tasks may communicate prior to conclusion.