Technical Definitions: What is 32-bit application? 32-bit application Definition.

Free Definitions: Software: Operating Systems

32-bit application Definition

{IBM PC} software that runs in a 32-bit {flat address space}. The term {32-bit application} came about because {MS-DOS} and {Microsoft Windows} were originally written for the {Intel 8088} and {80286} {microprocessors}.  These are {16 bit} microprocessors with a {segmented address space}.  Programs with more than 64 kilobytes of code and/or data therefore had to switch between {segments} quite frequently.  As this operation is quite time consuming in comparison to other machine operations, the application's performance may suffer. Furthermore, programming with segments is more involved than programming in a flat address space, giving rise to some complications in programming languages like "{memory models}" in {C} and {C++}. The shift from 16-bit software to 32-bit software on {IBM PC} {clones} became possible with the introduction of the {Intel 80386} microprocessor.  This microprocessor and its successors support a segmented address space with 16-bit and 32 bit segments (more precisely: segments with 16- or 32-bit address offset) or a linear 32-bit address space.  For compatibility reasons, however, much of the software is nevertheless written in 16-bit models. {Operating system}s like {Microsoft Windows} or {OS/2} provide the possibility to run 16-bit (segmented) programs as well as 32-bit programs.  The former possibility exists for {backward compatibility} and the latter is usually meant to be used for new software development. See also {Win32s}. (1995-12-11)

Definition Provided By Denis Howe