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| − | A ''32-bit'' processor is one that generally supports a word size of 2**32, where the constant "[[maxint]]" has the value 2**32-1, or 4,294,967,295. It also means that programs and data spaces can be much larger than on the older 16-bit machines.
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| − | Examples of 32-bit processors include
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| − | *X86 microcomputer (WINTEL architecture)
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| − | *Hewlett-Packard VAX mainframe/minicomputer
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| − | *IBM 360/370 Mainframe series (now known as Z-series)
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| − | *Motorola 68000 series (Macintosh)
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| − | The 32-bit processor type on the X86 (80386, 80486, Pentium) added additional features including enhanced multiprocessing, which is why you can have several programs running simultaneously, and task-protection, which (supposedly) means that if one program crashes it doesn't take the whole system down with it. This behavior works more consistently on Linux than on Windows.
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| − | Some 32-bit processors (X86) are enhancements of 16-bit processors, and generally can run 16-bit applications. The reverse, however, is not true; 32-bit code cannot run on a machine smaller than 32 bits.
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| − | ==See Also==
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| − | * [[Writing portable code regarding the processor architecture]]
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| − | * [[64 bit]]
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| − | [[Category:Processors]]
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