What is the big difference between 16bit and 32bit apps ?

[Inhumanoid]

What is the big difference between 16bit and 32bit apps ?

[Clunietp]

I think (I could be wrong) that 32 bit apps have up to 4GB addressable memory space, and 32bit apps are native to the 32 bit processor, so execution is much faster & more efficient.

Anyone else?

[Juan Carlos Rey]

Speed is the clue.
32 bits apps can not only address much more memory, but also execute code more efficiently.

[Dayo312]

how do you make your app 32bit??

[Clunietp]

When using VB, the last version that could make 16 bit apps is VB4 16 bit. Ever since then, all versions of VB only made 32 bit EXEs, so you don't have to worry if you are using VB4 32bit or later

[Inhumanoid]

Why are 32bit apps more stable then ???
Or is this just bullocks....

(Sometimes I even hear people say that when a certain system crashes you need not reboot windows cause the system is 32bit)

16 or 32bit apps are as stable as the programmer made them.

After a crash is it usefull to reboot, because the crashing program(or another) could have overwritten pieces of the memory in use by other programs and/or the OS itself.



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Vincent van den Braken
EMail: [email protected]
ICQ: 15440110
Homepage: http://www.azzmodan.demon.nl

[Clunietp]

32 bit apps appear more stable because of the operating system. The operating system will enforce that each app not overstep its memory address space limitations. Each O/S (95,98, NT) handles this differently, and it is more strictly enforced in NT than 9x, which is why NT is more stable than 9x.

Guess what.. move over 16 and 32, cuzz 64 Bit OS is on it's way. MS already has the prototype... heh...

Looks like we are going to be upgrading our software ALL OVER AGAIN!!!! That even means all this new Hardware we JUST bought is out the door since the processors are still 32-Bit execution processors... errrr..

I HATE MS!!!


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John T. Mieske
Star Trek LCARS programmer

Knight Vision Enterprises
[email protected]

[Clunietp]

I don't think we can blame MS for 64 bit computing.....besides, our 32 bit apps now will still work in 64 bit windows (just like 16 bit apps work (well, sometimes) in Win NT & Win 9x)

Technology does not stand still, and we cannot expect it to. This is the most dynamic industry in the world, and if you can't or won't keep up with it, you'll be left in the dust. New technology won't end and neither will new software & hardware development.

You give MS too much credit if you blame it all on them....

[mjoseph]

64 bit will bring a revolution in VB programming. Graphics, voice recognition, the lot, it will all be controlled so perfectly with 64 bit. It can address so much Memory and can handle more multi tasking. Not to mention the "SPEED" of the new processors running for it.

[Gimpster]

Guess what...64 bit OS has already been out for a looooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggg time. Have you ever heard of Alpha computers? Alpha was making CPUs that ran at 700MHz. back when Intel's fastest was about 200MHz. The way they did this was through the use of 64 bit processing. It requires different coding and therefore you must have a special version of the program you are running. That's why they never really caught on. Some places use them, such as graphics designers or people working with 3D modeling software (such as Lightwave and 3D Studio Max). But for the most part nobody wanted them because of the special software requirement. They still make them. But it's hard to find them. If you are interested, try checking in computer magazines. I think I first saw their ad in The Computer Shopper, several years ago.

Originally posted by Knight_Vision:
Guess what.. move over 16 and 32, cuzz 64 Bit OS is on it's way. MS already has the prototype... heh...

Looks like we are going to be upgrading our software ALL OVER AGAIN!!!! That even means all this new Hardware we JUST bought is out the door since the processors are still 32-Bit execution processors... errrr..

I HATE MS!!!

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Ryan

[Al Smith]

Hi Inhumanoid,
If you really want to know the boring details, 16 vs 32 is a question of hardware. Microprocessors used to have only 16 address lines. This means you could only access about 64K of memory. (Do the binary conversion. i.e. 2^16) In order to access the "Extended Memory" (memory above 64K) you needed an "Extended Memory Manager". Remember Dos's EMM.EXE? This accessed the extended memory by supplying addresses in two groups of 16 bit addresses. This takes more clock cycles to perform.
The standard microprocessor now has 32 address lines, hence 4GB of addressable memory. (Again do the binary conversion.) The number of microprocessor clock cycles to access this memory is cut in half.
64 bit, 128 bit, etc. It's a matter of hardware.
Al.


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