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by more_original 5144 days ago
Is the X32 ABI meant so that one can run X32 programs on an x64 kernel as well, or does one have to decide to use X32 once and for all and then compile everything with this ABI?
1 comments

My understanding is that the X32 ABI exists only in x86-64 kernels, and requires relevant X32 userspace libraries.

Basically you can choose if you want your program to have only 4 GB address space and thus only consume 4 bytes of memory per pointer. This is a per-process choice. (but obviously requires special binaries)