Should I switch to a 64-bit development environment?

[James A. Fortune]

I recently bought a 64-bit computer and need to decide whether to
continue programming C# in VS 2010 on a 32-bit system or move all my
development to the 64-bit system. What are the main considerations in
programming C# for/on a 32-bit system versus for/on a 64-bit system of
which I need to be aware? Would code targeted for 32-bit on the 64-
bit system produce identical results as the same code developed from a
32-bit system?

Thanks in advance,

James A. Fortune
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

I recently bought a 64-bit computer and need to decide whether to
continue programming C# in VS 2010 on a 32-bit system or move all my
development to the 64-bit system.

If you are developing server apps, then that seems to be a logical
move.

Your apps will then eventually have to run in 64 bit environment
and you are better of developing in that environment.

: What are the main considerations in

programming C# for/on a 32-bit system versus for/on a 64-bit system of
which I need to be aware?

For pure .NET nothing.

..NET is .NET.

But if you are using native code, then there are some differences.

And then there are all the secondary things:

Being on 64 bit you can also run the 64 bit versions of SQLServer etc..

And you have a better chance of getting errors if relying on some
32 bit native/COM stuff that may not be available in the production
environment.

You can test how your code performs on 64 bit. It is said that the
CLR does the JIT compilation slightly different on 64 bit.

Would code targeted for 32-bit on the 64-
bit system produce identical results as the same code developed from a
32-bit system?

Yes.

MSIL is MSIL.

The only difference is the flag:

x86 => 32 bit
x64 => 64 bit
any => any

x86 or x64 is important for .NET code using native code.

I would use any for pure .NET code.

Arne

 

[Jason Keats]

I recently bought a 64-bit computer and need to decide whether to
continue programming C# in VS 2010 on a 32-bit system or move all my
development to the 64-bit system. What are the main considerations in
programming C# for/on a 32-bit system versus for/on a 64-bit system of
which I need to be aware? Would code targeted for 32-bit on the 64-
bit system produce identical results as the same code developed from a
32-bit system?

I don't think Armin Zingler will mind me mentioning that he recently
discovered "issues" when debugging under a 64-bit O/S. He mentions it in the
VB newsgroup, where he supplied the following helpful link...

http://blog.paulbetts.org/index.php...ception-user-mode-callback-exceptions-in-x64/

 

[Marcel Müller]

Hi,

• VS can debug 64-bit processes, but it's somewhat limited. Edit &
Continue doesn't work, and there are some oddities with respect to other
interactions with the target process (sorry I can't recall the
specifics…I ran into a specific issue 12-18 months ago or so, but don't
remember exactly what). The issue I ran into specifically related to the
fact that VS was running in the 32-bit WoW layer, while my 64-bit
process was not. It wasn't a major issue, but it was a little annoying.

Most of the time, if I'm debugging a 64-bit process with VS, I don't
notice the difference at all.

we solved the issues by developing and functional testing with 32 bit
while the production environment and of course the QA environment is 64
bit. There are no concerns so far. The assemblies work with an x64
runtime as well as with x86.


Marcel

 

[James A. Fortune]

I recently bought a 64-bit computer and need to decide whether to
continue programming C# in VS 2010 on a 32-bit system or move all my
development to the 64-bit system.  What are the main considerations in
programming C# for/on a 32-bit system versus for/on a 64-bit system of
which I need to be aware?  Would code targeted for 32-bit on the 64-
bit system produce identical results as the same code developed from a
32-bit system?

Thanks in advance,

James A. Fortune
(e-mail address removed)

Thanks for the comments. They were all helpful. I think I'll stick
with VS 2010 on a 32-bit machine for now, yet try to stay aware of the
64-bit issues.

James A. Fortune
(e-mail address removed)