Fw: [Python-talk] 64 bit question

[Jon 'maddog' Hall]

Bruce,

Just off hand, I would think that if the Python system itself was not
64-bit clean by now (assuming a 64-bit distribution of your favorite
distro) that a good portion of the distributions would simply stop
working (or work a lot slower than they should).  Linux has been a
64-bit system since 1995.

I found an announcement dated September of 2005 that said that Python
"works well on 64-bit AIX and HP/UX."

It is *possible* that Python runs in a 32-bit address field, but I doubt
it.  I have heard that even Vista has 64 bit address spaces now.  And
not be able to access files over 4 GB?  How would most Microsoft users
be able to handle their PowerPoint files?

The fact that your "C" and C++ programs had to have the "64 bit" flag
turned on was because the compilers were generating object code from the
sources you provided, and you had to tell the compilers that you were
generating 64 bit pointers, etc. instead of 32-bit pointers.  This will
"always" be necessary (unless 64-bit becomes a default, which is
unlikely in my lifetime).

Now whether you have to (or want to) change the way you code your Python
programs to take advantage of that 64 bit address space and those larger
file sizes, that is another issue.

md
-- 
Jon "maddog" Hall
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