RE: short answer to technical question?

From: Crisler, Jon (JCrisler_at_corvis.com)
Date: 11/16/05

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    Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 16:40:53 -0500
To: "For users of Fedora Core releases" <fedora-list@redhat.com>

    Older IBM AS/400's used 128 bit addresses since 1988, and this was true
    from ver 1 of OS/400 until past ver 3 of OS/400. I think this allowed
    the concept of single-level storage, where all disk was addressable the
    same as memory. The initial CPU was a true 48 bit machine IIRC, and
    went to 64 bit when the Power PC first came out in that flavor.

    -----Original Message-----
    From: fedora-list-bounces@redhat.com
    [mailto:fedora-list-bounces@redhat.com] On Behalf Of Nix, Robert P.
    Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 3:26 PM
    To: 'For users of Fedora Core releases'
    Subject: RE: short answer to technical question?

    Actually, in this case 32 bit and 64 bit refer not to the natural word
    size, but to the address size. i.e. a 32 bit machine uses a 32 bit
    address for memory, and cannot address as much memory as a 64 bit
    machine, using 64 bit addresses, can.

    In the case of the IBM mainframe computers, the natural word used to be
    32 bits, but they were 31 bit machines, as the top bit of the word was
    reserved for something other than an address bit. The new mainframes are
    64 bit machines, using all 64 bits of an address to address memory.
    They're still 32 bit words though; they just happen now to use two of
    them for an address.

    (Actually, the smallest thing the mainframe would deal with for a long
    time (early 1980's forward) has been 64 bits, or a double-word. The main
    change has been the use of larger addresses.) 

    -- 
Robert P. Nix		Mayo Foundation
RO-OC-1-13 (new loc)	200 First Street SW
507-284-0844		Rochester, MN 55905
-----
"In theory, theory and practice are the same, but
 in practice, theory and practice are different."
-----Original Message-----
From: fedora-list-bounces@redhat.com
[mailto:fedora-list-bounces@redhat.com] On Behalf Of Mike McCarty
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 12:21 PM
To: For users of Fedora Core releases
Subject: Re: short answer to technical question?
Gerhard Magnus wrote:
> Hello All,
> 
> 	I don't know if there's a short answer to this... but what do
"32 bit"
> and "64 bit" refer to and how can I tell which applies to my computer?
> 
> Jerry
Modern PC style computers all are binary. (Most calculators are
decimal.) The word "bit" is a contraction of "binary digit".
All computers have a natural word size, measured in digits.
This is the size of word which the computer can use without
special software. If the natural size of a computer word is
8 bits, then it is called an 8 bit computer. Examples are the
8080, Z80, 68HC11, and so on. Computers whose natural word
size is 16 bits are the 8086, Z8000, 68000, etc. The 80386
and later 80x86 machines up through the Pentium class machines
were all 32 bit machines. Now, some machines have a natural
word size of 64 bits.
The only way to tell is to know what the processor chip is.
Mike
-- 
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