Effect of Using 64-bit Pointers?

Posted by Cliff on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @01:30PM from the technical-changes-and-internal-effects dept.

An anonymous reader queries: "Most 64-bit processors provide a 32-bit mode for compatibility, but 64-bit pointers are becoming essential as systems move beyond 4GB of RAM. Also, the large virtual address space is very useful for several reasons - allowing large files to be memory-mapped, and allowing pages of memory to be remapped without ever requiring the virtual address space to be defragmented. However, 64-bit pointers take up twice as much memory, which immediately affects memory footprint. This is especially an issue on embedded platforms where RAM is at a premium, but even on systems where RAM is plentiful and cheap the extra memory footprint reduces cache performance. Have Slashdot readers done any research into the actual effect of using 64-bit pointers in a 'typical' application? What proportion of a real program's data is actually pointers?"

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easy... by edrugtrader · 2004-01-21 13:34 · Score: 5, Funny

Have Slashdot readers done any research into the actual effect of using 64-bit pointers in a 'typical' application?

none whatsoever.

What proportion of a real program's data is actually pointers?

none whatsoever.

oh... i use java.

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1. Re:easy... by El · 2004-01-21 13:41 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Does Java handle datasets larger than 4GBytes, or does it run so slowly that nobody has been able to find out whether or not it handles them? In the underlying implementation, isn't EVERY object actually a pointer?
  
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2. Re:easy... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-22 20:34 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Of course it can handle datasets larger than 4 gigs. How else could you write a HelloWorld program with it ?