kingcake wrote on 2024-05-13, 02:19:
Windows on ARM was Microsoft's attempt at forcing a clean break from legacy, but we all know how that went. Corporate customers rejected that. They want x86 and legacy apps.
Hi, I think there's a misunderstanding.
I didn't mean Windows 8.x on ARM (MS Surface computers etc) but the current Windows 10/11 ARM builds.
And they're doing well, actually. Mac users with Apple Silicon use Windows/ARM in Parallels Desktop, afaik.
Sample video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=40Wf7yTjtpU
Edit: I mean, at this point in history, it's all "WinTel" again. That x64S looks specifically tailored to be able to run Windows 10/11.
There also was "Windows 10 S", another a cut-down technology.
The little bits of rudimentary IA-32 (i386) compatibility that's left in x64S can merely be used by user space code (Win32 applications) on an OS like Windows x64, but not by full-fledged 32-Bit OS anymore.
But if a future Windows 11 x64 build can also use full x86 emulation instead (like it already can in the ARM builds) the whole compatibility concept of x64S is questionable here.
Edit: Such a concept isn't new, by the way.
Windows NT for RISC machines had supported DOS and Win16 applications on MIPS, Alpha and Power PC.
Emulation level was on an 80286/16-Bit (iAPX) basis first, but got levitated to 80486/32-Bit (IA-32) level in NT 4.
That upgrade allowed to run newer DOS programs (i386 instructions), as well as Win16 programs that required Windows 3.1 386 Enhanced-Mode kernal.
Third-party add-ons like "FX!32" allowed to run normal Win32/x86 applications on foreign processor architectures.
So really, application level compatibility doesn't depend on Intel or the pitiful remainings of x86 in x64S.
In fact, a clean x86 emulation might be more compatible in the end.
Just like DOSBox is more compatible/stable than a virtualized installation of MS-DOS 6.2x on the latest PC hardware.
Modern dynamic recompilers can help to overcome certain performance issues, as well.
Edit: What's also interesting is that Win10/11 on ARM has recently gotten x64 emulation, in addition to plain x86 emulation.
So this is another parallel development to what happened in the 90s (80286 vs 80486 support).
https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/202 … nsider-program/
Edit: And then there's hardware-assisted virtualization..
I wonder how Intel VT and AMD-V will fit into the picture and how x64S will affect them.
If it remains functional, the WoW64 sub system of Windows could be built around hypervisor technology. Microsoft uses it for years in its server field.
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