What Is Win32 Application?

Background

Most home and office computers are built using the 32-bit architecture. It is also called as x86, based on the names of the Intel processors that have the last two digits as 86, which were designed as 32-bits. It was considered then that the 32-bit design was enough for home and office computers to run applications sufficiently and efficiently. As a simple analogy, think of eight highway lanes and the number of vehicles that can use those lanes without overtaking. The more lanes, the more cars can access those lanes. In computer architecture, this means applications can use any of the memory space in the RAM (random-access memory) up to 2 raised to the power of 32, which translates to 4GB of RAM. This was considered the threshold then for ordinary computers, while the 64-bit architecture was reserved for servers and other power computers until technology became more advanced and operating systems became more powerful, thus consuming more memory. Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft made available 64-bit operating systems for ordinary computers that are built with the 64-bit architecture. Advances in technology have made 64-bit architecture possible for home and office computers.

The 64-bit architecture was useful for servers, since servers handle a lot of processes that require extensive use of memory. Servers, however, were towering structures and bigger than were most computers so as to accommodate the 64-bit architecture built into it. Going back to the highway lane analogy, the more lanes you have, the more land space you use. These lanes are referred to as the bus width in computers. Recent technological improvements have reduced the bus width in processors to make them fit in desktops and laptops.

Windows 32-bit programs are compatible with 64-bit computers as long as they don't use or load drivers, which are codes present in antivirus programs and peripheral connections such as printers and the mouse. Drivers are built and designed based on a specific architecture such that a 32-bit driver cannot run on a 62-bit operating system and vice versa. These drivers are created in C:\Windows\system32\drivers folder with a .SYS file extension. If a 32-bit program does not load any 32-bit drivers, it can run in a 64-bit OS.

Windows 64-bit applications are not compatible with 32-bit computers. Since 64-bit applications are designed for a 64-bit memory space, it may be too memory-consuming for a 32-bit computer. Think of 64 highway lanes filled with cars and fitting them into 32 lanes; it will be too congested and cause traffic to stop. It's similar to computers, running a 64-bit application on a 32-bit computer will cause the computer to stop and crash.

You can determine your computer architecture by going to the System Properties of the Control Panel. A 32-bit computer will have either x86-based PC or 32-bit Operating System under the System item. A 64-bit computer will have x64-based PC or 64-based Operating System under the System item.