IA-32 (Intel Architecture, 32-bit), often generically called x86, x86-32 or i386, is the instruction set architecture of Intel's most commercially successful microprocessors yet. It is a 32-bit extension, first implemented in the Intel 80386, of the earlier 16-bit Intel 8086, 80186 and 80286 processors and the common denominator for all subsequent x86 designs. This architecture defines the instruction set for the family of microprocessors install...
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IA-32 (Intel Architecture, 32-bit), often generically called x86, x86-32 or i386, is the instruction set architecture of Intel's most commercially successful microprocessors yet. It is a 32-bit extension, first implemented in the Intel 80386, of the earlier 16-bit Intel 8086, 80186 and 80286 processors and the common denominator for all subsequent x86 designs. This architecture defines the instruction set for the family of microprocessors installed in the vast majority of personal computers in the world.
The longevity is partially due to full backward compatibility and the architecture has also been extended to 64-bits, without breaking compatibility. This extension is called Intel 64 by Intel or AMD64 by AMD (and referred to generically as x86-64 or x64) and is entirely unrelated to the 64-bit IA-64 architecture implemented in Intel's Itanium series.
The IA-32 instruction set is usually described as a CISC architecture, though such classifications have become less meaningful with...
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