On Wednesday 25 July 2007 01:13, you wrote: >Why would any one use amd64 since it's not even a amd? Is it because >it's a 64bit? Do both amd64 and i386/64bit share so much?
My understanding (and i'm sure someone else will correct me if i'm wrong) is that AMD extended their processors with 64-bit instructions. This was after Intel released the Itanium, with its own set of 64-bit instructions. But for various reasons the Itanium was not a commercial success on the desktop market and eventually Intel adopted a slightly modified version of AMD's 64-bit instruction set for its desktop chips. AMD calls the architecture of its 64-bit chips "AMD64" while Intel calls it "Intel 64". Sometimes both are referred to as x86_64. Since AMD and Intel's implementation are very similar, it is possible (and very common) for a compiler to generate code that runs on both. Most operating systems that run on one run on both, though right now it seems most typical to label the architecture as "amd64" regardless of whether it is running on an AMD or an Intel chip. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dan Ramaley Dial Center 118, Drake University Network Programmer/Analyst 2407 Carpenter Ave +1 515 271-4540 Des Moines IA 50311 USA
