How Does Visual Studio's 'Prefer 32-bit' Setting Affect Application Architecture?

Visual Studio's "Prefer 32-bit" Setting Explained

Visual Studio's "Prefer 32-bit" option dictates the architecture used during compilation. While Visual Studio 11's default for .NET projects is "AnyCPU," the "Any CPU (32-bit preferred)" option offers a valuable alternative.

Architectural Determination: A Clarification

The compiler doesn't analyze your code to determine the target architecture. The selected setting directly guides the compilation process.

"Any CPU (32-bit preferred)" Behavior:

Selecting "Prefer 32-bit" results in the following:

• 32-bit Windows: The application runs as a 32-bit process, compiling Intermediate Language (IL) to x86 machine code.
• 64-bit Windows: The application runs as a 32-bit process, compiling IL to x86 machine code.
• ARM Windows: The application runs as a 32-bit process, compiling IL to ARM machine code.

Comparing "Any CPU (32-bit preferred)" and "x86":

The crucial distinction lies in ARM compatibility. "x86" applications are incompatible with ARM Windows, unlike "Any CPU (32-bit preferred)" applications, ensuring backward compatibility while offering architectural targeting flexibility.

The above is the detailed content of How Does Visual Studio's 'Prefer 32-bit' Setting Affect Application Architecture?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!