Read on as we delve into the concept of native software.
The Question
SuperUser reader Throsby is curious about what it means to run software natively.
He writes:
I’ve been wondering what it means for software to run natively.
What exactly is such software and how is it different from software that does not run natively?
How can I tell if a given piece of software will run natively on my computer?
Is there likely to be software already on my computer that runs natively?
Read on for an excellent analogy explaining exactly what it means to be native on a given system.
Using the Game Boy as an example, it gets its software from cartridges.
These cartridges contain code that runsnativelyon the Game Boy.
Emulatorsare a layer that allows software designed for one platform to be run on another.
Acompatibility layeris kind of like an emulator.
When 64-bit computers and operating systems became mainstream, they needed to be compatible with the existing 32-bit technologies.
This is why some programs are often installed to a folder called
, where
means “32-bit”.
WoW64 helps make programs compatible rather thanemulating them in an isolated environment.
Atranslation libraryis a component of compatibility layers.
Platform-independent codeis written in a language that is interpreted by something that usually runs natively.
