What is the bravest thing you have ever done or said!!

Though it may not be as brave as the other incidents which I read in answers to this question but for me it was.

After completing my post graduation and certifying it with a job ( for my relatives) my mother asked me to donate some part of my 1st salary in some temple nearby where I was staying (Indian Tradition).

Well for me there is only one God.
Its definition according to me is some supreme power responsible for sustaining everything on this beautiful planet and that power is everywhere around you. Hence, I never believed in visiting temples and for that matter spending a single penny on them (with no disrespect to anyone's religious sentiments).

I thought of many things but this was the only feasible option that came to my mind.
I gathered all the poor kids (around 14-15) around a famous mall in Hasratganj, Lucknow, India. And took them to McDonalds.

The entire happenings of that day:

The Mall

As, we were entering the mall the security guards tried to stop us.

Guard 1 ( in the loudest volume): Hey! You ill mannered boy (to one of the poor kids), where do you think you are going??!!

Me: How dare you say like that, they are with me !!

Guard 1 now looking at Guard 2 (senior) with some request for help in his eyes.

Guard 2 : Sir, these type of people are not allowed in the mall.

 Me: And why is that?

G2 ( with no sure answer ): Sir, we are ordered by the higher authority not to let them in.

Me : It's ok, they are my responsibility. I will make sure that they don't disturb the environment of the mall.

G2 (Defeated) : Ok sir as you say but if anything happens you would have to pay for it.

Me: Ok!!

McDonalds

As we all entered the McDonalds of that mall, the 1st Reaction of everybody in there was like 

As if it was some crime those kids have committed by entering that place.

I made all the kids to settle down and went to the counter to place the order.
While I was zeroing upon the options I took out my Wallet and offered them my debit card.

McDonalds Person 1: Sir, we don't accept card payment.

Me: ok.

Hunt for an ATM

Now I had to search for an ATM outside the mall and for that I have to leave these kids alone in McD.
I asked the kids to not to misbehave and told them I was coming back in 5 mins.

I went outside the mall. Found one ATM which was non functional.
Asked people around. Found one more ATM after a search of 5 mins. Took the cash and ran back to the mall.

In total it took approximately 15 mins for me to return to the mall from when I left it.

McDonalds Returns

As, I was entering the mall I saw that these employees of McDonalds have pushed these kids outside their outlet.

I ran towards the their front gate and in a loud voice said "These kids are with me !!!!!!"

McDonalds Person 2: Sir, they are not allowed in here.

Me: Show me where it is written in your company's policy.

McDonalds Person 3: Sir, we cannot do that.

Me: Sorry, Then we cannot leave.

McDonalds Person 2 and 3 after looking at each other decided to let us all sit.

Fun time:

I ordered happy meals for all of us. Had some great time. Spent 2-3 hours laughing and talking to each other.
Kids spilled 3-4 Pepsi filled glasses which to my surprise were refilled for free by the McDonalds staff.

All in all we all enjoyed and finally we left the mall with some great memories. 

There were many reasons for me to do this:

• I never wanted to waste my hard earned money in temple donation.
• I thought by this way I would be able to make these kids feel accepted.
• I wanted to break this social convention of rich and poor within me and others around me.
• I always thought of doing it in my college days.
• I wanted my 1st salary celebration to be very very special.

Now, all these kids know me very well and whenever I pass by from that area we all spend time together playing, sharing jokes, playing pranks on one another. They call me by various names "Bhaiya (Hindi for big brother)", "Uncle", "cha-cha (Hindi for Uncle)", which makes me feel much more accepted in their life than they been in mine.

If you have read it all, thanks for bearing with me.


courtesy: http://www.quora.com/Life/What-is-the-bravest-thing-you-have-ever-done-or-said

How I dealt with a Chubby Girl

It is actually not a bravest thing of my life though I want to share with you people.
This happened when I came to Hyderabad from Delhi after completing my graduation.
In the beginning of my job I had nothing to do, in IT  so it's called BENCH period.
One day I was sitting near cafeteria.A chubby girl came to counter bought Cadbury  Silk. And after having it threw the wrapper there itself instead of Dustbin.
I cant depict how invasive I became.
Somehow I manage my tantrum and went to her who was busy with her friends in gossiping.
Me: Excuse me give it to me I'll throw it in Dustbin.
She: Gazed me for while like O.^.o.

MyExpression:
O..o she must be going to shout at me or make a jump over me to leave me dead.

but situation wasn't as I thought. She smiled, picked the wrapper and threw it in a dustbin.
And this is not the only one incident,I use to do such a stupid activity whenever I see someone throwing such a things not in place where it supposed to throw.

  

MyPosts

If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don’t write, because our culture has no use for it.
Here is the place you will find article and other stuff written by me :)

•     First Page of my Diary : 2015
•     How I dealt with a chubby Girl
•     New Year message to my Best Buddies
•     What is the Bravest thing you have ever done or said
•     The one Embarrassing "Tetly Tea Bag"
•     Bye Bye Bhagya
•     How to clear interview in core IT companies
•     The Day I got hacked
•     2015, a memory
•     First Page of my Diary : 2016
•     Welcome little Princes
•     Why Should you buy a DSLR
•     The caveman who didn't say anything to you

TechPosts

Whenever or wherever I found something interesting, I gathered those stuffs over here.Because Sharing knowledge has helped mankind survive and evolve into the intelligent and productive species he is today. In the animal kingdom and indeed in business, knowledge sharing can make the difference between survival and extinction.

• How does 64 bit os work on 32 bit processor
• What Is Unicode
• Difference between raster and vector image
• How does function work
• Write a program that prints X with probability=0.1, Y with probability=0.3, and Z with probability=0.6
• Definition, declaration and the extern keyword
• Supervised vs Unsupervised learning (Data Mining)
• ACID properties of database
• DB2 vs MySql or Difference between DB2 and MySql
• Program to find 2's complement
• Program to Conver Hexadecimal String to Decimal number
• How to disable IDM (Internet Download Manager) fake serial key popup
• How to rename blog title
• Understanding Virtual function in CPP
• Understanding hashCode and equals contract

CONTACT

sarfraz1221@gmail.com
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There is Data Structure Tutorial Link

ABOUT

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Welcome to my Blog.The purpose of this blog is to provide a collective and selective content to the users. 

Things You Can Do to Increase Your Income

1.
Wake up early. Did you miss this one already? Don’t worry because we have 8 more things you can do to increase your income – today.
2.
Practice and improve your speaking skills. Join a Toastmasters club if there is one in your area. If there isn’t one, get a few like minded people together and start one.One of the most touted things people in business recommend to help others improve their income is to improve their communication and leadership skills. Being able to confidently stand up and speak in public is one of the most visible and recognized skills you can have at your disposal. Being able to present a compelling case to a customer prospect or to your boss as to why they should spend more on you or whatever you are selling likely won’t fly if you are a wallflower or turn to mush when called on to speak. You should instead stand and deliver your message in a clear and compelling manner.
3.
Sharpen your analytical knife. Whatever your area of interest, become better equipped to perform analysis. Practice reviewing financial statements. Pay attention to the various aspects that experts in the field are looking at. Start with whatever your company or organization pays you. Whether you own it or not, learn to analyze it as an owner does. If you are in a technical area, practice analyzing the problems you are working on as though you were an expert or an owner with a vested interest in the outcome.
4.
Ask. Ask for the order if you are selling something. Lift the telephone even if it seems to weigh 10, 000 pounds when it is time to ask a customer prospect for an appointment. When facing this person, ask for the order even if it is not highly likely you will get it and the odds are high that you will face rejection. Ask your boss for a raise if you are indeed as valuable as you think you are. Ask for candid feedback if you are not sure. Ask for a more generous severance package if you were wrong. People who tend to avoid asking difficult questions, generally do not fare as well as those who do ask such questions.
5.
Focus. This is stressed so often in so many places by so many people that it has become cliché. But that doesn’t make it any less valuable. So, like so many others before us have said: focus, focus, focus.
6.
Spend less. Spending money usually takes time and effort away from making money. It can substantially weaken your power base if you squander your financial resources and leave yourself dependent.
7.
Increase your documentation habit. Writing or somehow tracking information in a permanent form dramatically decreases the need to remember stuff. It frees up tremendous mental capacity if we don’t need to rely on our memory for everything. In practice, those who document stuff well (from long term goals to short term stuff like contact information and item lists) tend to enjoy increased memory capacity.
8.
Review meaningful stuff in a meaningful way. Find ways to immediately assess what you are doing so that you can determine what creates value. Then focus on it, and scrap the stuff that does not. Chances are that most of your value creation occurs in a relatively small amount of time. This works well with having good documentation habits.
9.
Take your best shot first. If you only had a day left to live and wanted to accomplish something meaningful, how would you approach the day? Don’t waste time fumbling around on unimportant or trivial tasks that won’t help you make an impact. Set the unimportant matters aside, focus on what matters and make the best move you can toward accomplishing what you need to accomplish to make your last day count.Use this same philosophy when it comes to increasing your income. If you have a good customer prospect or some opportunity to demonstrate a high value proposition to your boss or co-workers, don’t wait. Do it now. If it doesn’t work, you might still get another shot. And if it does, then you have just increased your income!
You might have noticed that some of these above things are slanted from a financial perspective. This is not by accident. There is a strong correlation between one’s income and his or her proximity to the financial aspects of the business or job. Owners, lawyers, accountants and top managers who tend to be involved with the financial aspects of life and business, tend to have much higher incomes than people who do not.

You might have noticed that some of these above things are slanted from a financial perspective. This is not by accident. There is a strong correlation between one’s income and his or her proximity to the financial aspects of the business or job. Owners, lawyers, accountants and top managers who tend to be involved with the financial aspects of life and business, tend to have much higher incomes than people who do not

What Is Unicode

                                 Unicode provides a unique number for every character,

no matter what the platform,

no matter what the program,

no matter what the language

Fundamentally, computers just deal with numbers. They store letters and other characters by assigning a number for each one. Before Unicode was invented, there were hundreds of different encoding systems for assigning these numbers. No single encoding could contain enough characters: for example, the European Union alone requires several different encodings to cover all its languages. Even for a single language like English no single encoding was adequate for all the letters, punctuation, and technical symbols in common use.

These encoding systems also conflict with one another. That is, two encodings can use the same number for two different characters, or use different numbers for thesame character. Any given computer (especially servers) needs to support many different encodings; yet whenever data is passed between different encodings or platforms, that data always runs the risk of corruption.

Unicode provides a unique number for every character, no matter what the platform, no matter what the program, no matter what the language. The Unicode Standard has been adopted by such industry leaders as Apple, HP, IBM, JustSystems, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Sun, Sybase, Unisys and many others. Unicode is required by modern standards such as XML, Java, ECMAScript (JavaScript), LDAP, CORBA 3.0, WML, etc., and is the official way to implement ISO/IEC 10646. It is supported in many operating systems, all modern browsers, and many other products. The emergence of the Unicode Standard, and the availability of tools supporting it, are among the most significant recent global software technology trends.

Incorporating Unicode into client-server or multi-tiered applications and websites offers significant cost savings over the use of legacy character sets. Unicode enables a single software product or a single website to be targeted across multiple platforms, languages and countries without re-engineering. It allows data to be transported through many different systems without corruption.

TCS appraisal process And joining Documents

TCS appraisal process for trainees / freshers

This article is based on the past few years practice as shared by trainees. TCS may change the processes, but this article will give you an idea of the appraisal process through out the IT industry. More or less it is the appraisal process followed in all IT companies like WIPRO, CTS ( Cognizant) , INFOSYS and others
All the associates in TCS are rated on a scale of 0-5, 5 being the highest. your rating generally comes up to 3 decimal places which are rounded off to nearest integer e.g. if your rating is 3.499, it would be considered as 3 and if its 3.500 or 3.501,it would be considered as 4.

In first year, you are quarterly rated, i.e. your performance would be evaluated every 3 months by your immediate supervisor (project leader). Suppose if u join TCS in Oct 2012 at ILP, then your first quarter would be OCT-DEC '12. It has nothing to do with Financial Quarters. So, don't combine the two. You'll get a rating in ILP but it is generally not taken into account when you join a project. Your project leader would rate u according to your performance in his project in every forthcoming quarter. After u complete 1 year, you'll have 4 ratings with u (one from every quarter).

Ideally, as per the guidelines, your confirmation rating should be a weighted average of your quarterly ratings. But in reality, it does not happen in most of the companies. The management has a curve and they follow a process popularly known as Bell Curve. According to that curve, you'll get your confirmation rating. After confirmation, you'll be rated half yearly (H1- Apr to Sept and H2 - Oct to Mar).If u are confirmed in Oct'12, then you'll be facing H2 directly without having your H1 appraisal cycle.

The Bell Curve Factor

Bell Curve: - Suppose there are 100 associates in a particular account in which say 10 projects are in progress. In every project, there are 10 associates and one of them is a project leader (PL). Over every 2-3 projects, there is a Project Manager (PM). And over all Project Managers, there is an account manager (AM). And over account managers, there is Group Leader (GL).

In the mentioned process, GL gives guidelines to all the AMs regarding the ratings to be distributed in their respective accounts. This is transferred to PM and ultimately to PL levels. Suppose, according to guidelines, out of 10 associates in every project, 2 can get a rating of 5, 3 to be given a rating of 4, 4 to be given a rating of 3 and 1 has to be given a rating of 2. This is how it is distributed. Now, PL - PM have to identify who should be put into which slot. This whole process is known as Curve Fitting wherein PMs and PLs are fitting you at a particular location of the curve given by the GL.

There is a difference of around 1100 bugs per month between any two ratings. That means, if you have got a rating of 4, then probably you might get around 3.LPA as your package after confirmation and if you have a rating of 3, you might get 3.76 LPA and so on.

TCS's performance appraisal system is supported by an online system called the Human Resource Management System- an Oracle Developer based tool. The system individual right from his biographical details to his projects performance. An employee's performance history at the click of a button and this accurately maintained for all employees! Right from his entry, an employee in TCS get formal performance feedback once very two months till such time that he is confirmed after which the performance feedback is provided twice every year on a formal basis. TCS however widely encourages informal feedback discussions between Project Leaders and Team Members and this concept has found an overwhelming appeal among the people.

TCS conducts two appraisals:
1. At the end of the year
2. At the end of a project.

Appraisals are based on Balanced Scorecard, which tracks the achievement of employees on the basis of targets at four levels —
financial
customer
internal
learning and growth

The financial perspective quantifies the employee’s contribution in terms of revenue growth, cost reduction, improved asset utilization and so on; The customer perspective looks at the differentiating value proposition offered by the employee; the internal perspective refers to the employee’s contribution in creating and sustaining value; the learning and growth are self-explanatory. The weightage given to each attribute is based on the function the employee performs. Based on their individual achievements, employees are rated on a scale of one to five (five = “superstar”). If employees get a low rating (less than two) in two consecutive
appraisals, the warning flags go up.

“If the poor performer continues getting low scores then the exit option may be considered”

Over the years TCS has found the pattern that leads to the maximum decline in performance — boredom. If employees work for more than two years on the same project, typically either their performance dips or they leave the organization.

To avoid that, TCS shuffles its employees between projects every 18 months or so.

“Performance drops if motivation drops”

At the heart of an employee's satisfaction lies the fact that his performance is being appreciated and recognized. TCS's performance management system has metamorphosed into one that emphasizes objectivity and a system that mandates performance evaluation against pre-determined criteria.


What deserve special mention is the active participation of the senior management in the determination of guidelines for the performance appraisal process. The process ensure buy in of the employees since the guidelines for the rating system and its conversion into money terms is not unilaterally decided by HR but is a consensus of a cross functional team with representation from all levels.

JOINING DOCUMENTS

JOINING DOCUMENTS

This article is taken from Joining Annexure of TCS

To ensure a hassle-free joining at TCS, you are requested to complete the following activities / bring the following documents:

You should have completed the first phase of National Skills Registry (NSR) registration. 

Completed Background Check (BGC) forms (no need to bring Demand Drafts as mentioned in some of the forms).

Completed Medical fitness certificate.

Original and at least one attested (by a gazetted officer) copy of documents listed in the following .

Documents Checklist

Proof of Qualification

Mark statements from Class-X onwards.

Mark statements for all semesters

Consolidated Degree mark statement.

Degree Certificate (If Degree Certificate is not available, Provisional Certificate / Course Completion Certificate.

Proof of Address

One of these: Passport, copy of Electricity Bill, Copy of DoT landline Telephone Bill.

Proof of Identity

PAN Card.

One of these: Valid Passport, Driving license, Voters ID card.

Proof of Age

Birth Certificate (If birth certificate is not available or if it is in local language, Birth Affidavit).

Other Documents

Service Agreement (for all those who are selected for positions in grade 'Y')

PAN Card

TCS Offer Letter and Joining letter

Affidavit undertaking on a Rs. 100/- stamp paper.

Documents to be submitted for Background Check (BGC)

Completed Background Check form (hard copy of BGC Form - Campus Trainees.pdf).

Self-attested copy of ID proof – One of these: PAN Card, Passport, Driving License, Voters ID card,College ID Card duly attested by HOD.

Self-attested copy of address proof – One of these: Passport, Ration card, Electricity Bill, Landline Telephone Bill, House Lease Agreement.

Self-attested and signed documents to explain break (if any) in education - (i) or (ii) or (iii):

(i) Medical records, if the break was due to medical reasons.

(ii) Certificates / Examination results, if the break was due to additional course done.

(iii) Affidavit with notary authorization, if the break was due to other personal reasons.

Self-attested Criminal Investigation Division (CID) forms for the respective regions, if (i) or (ii) or (ii) is true:

(i) Your present address is in one of these places: Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane City, Thane Rural, Pune.

(ii) Your address of longest stay in the last seven years is in one of these places: Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane City, Thane Rural, Pune.

(iii) Your permanent address is in one of these places: Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane City, Thane Rural, Pune,

********************************

Answer To Some Queries

********************************

I. Academic Records

a) Matriculation and Inter/Higher Secondary marksheets.

b) All semester marksheets for post graduation, graduation and diplomas. If the final semester marksheet is yet to be issued by the university/institute, you are required to submit the same before the completion of the ILP.

c) Degree certificate/provisional certificate for post-graduation, graduation and diplomas. If the same is awaited from the university/institute, you are required to produce the ‘Course Completion Certificate’ issued by your institute head or director, which is only a temporary arrangement.

II. Other Relevant Documents/Requirements

a) Birth certificate issued by the concerned government authorities.

b) Note: The class X and/or XII marksheets or certificates from the hospital/community and nativity certificate will not suffice. In case you do not possess a birth certificate containing your name, date of birth and place of birth, you are needed to obtain an affidavit on a Rs. 20 stamp papers signed by a notary with these details. Since this is a temporary arrangement, you will be required to furnish the birth certificate before the completion of the ILP.

c) A valid passport (if any)

d) Offer letter and joining letter

e) 12 passport size photographs

f) Date of birth and other details of the person you would like to nominate for

Gratuity, Superannuation, Provident Fund and Health Insurance Scheme

g) Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card copy

h) Medical Certificate

i) Gap Certificate (if any)

Note: The originals of these documents along with one set of attested photocopy needs to provided on joining for ILP. No provision for attestation would be provided at the joining place. The original documents stated above will be returned to you after scrutiny.

Note: Check - List

a. From TCS: Service Agreement between You and TCS.

b. From TCS: Affidavit Signed by Notary Public (Please don’t give more than Rs. 30 for the signature).

c. From TCS: Surety Verification Form attested by the Bank.

d. From TCS: Medical Certificate of Fitness attested by a Registered Medical Practitioner.

e. From TCS: Acceptance of Joining.

f. Academic: Matriculation and Inter/Higher Secondary marksheets.

g. Academic: All semester marksheets of our BE Degree issued by Anna University.

h. Academic: Degree certificate/provisional certificate for BE Degree issued by our college.

i. Personal: Birth certificate issued by the concerned government authorities.

j. Personal: A valid passport (if any. take it's receipt at least).

k. Personal: Offer letter and joining letter.

l. Personal: 12 passport size photographs.

m. Personal: Date of birth and other details of the person you would like to nominate for Gratuity, Superannuation, Provident Fund and Health Insurance Scheme.

n. Personal: Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card copy.

o. Personal: National Skills Registry (NSR) Card copy.

p. Personal: Income Tax returns, Form 16 of Surety, (if salaried).

q. Personal: Driving License (optional)

||*******************************************************************||

Note 0: I hope, all the documents covered. Do create a check-list for all these and make sure you have verified it with your joining mail correctly before submitting. If there are any mistakes in the above said details, please do correct me, at least in the comments.

Note 1: If you have submitted an invalid document, or document with mistakes in it, you will be given just 3 days of time to correct them and re-submit them. Else you will be batched only with the next batch.

Note 2: Carry all the above said documents in originals. The originals will be returned after verification on the same day. (Not very much sure for this)

Note 3: Documents to be attested: The documents given from the candidate to the TCS, like Marksheets & Certificates, have to be attested. The documents given by TCS need not be attested. Its a copy for your personal use.

Note 4: Photocopies: Please take two photocopies of the documents you are submitting to TCS. One should be submitted for the initial thing and other will be needed for various things there.

difference between raster and vector image

What is the difference between bitmap and vector images

Bitmap (or raster) images are stored as a series of tiny dots called pixels. Each pixel is actually a very small square that is assigned a color, and then arranged in a pattern to form the image. When you zoom in on a bitmap image you can see the individual pixels that make up that image. Bitmap graphics can be edited by erasing or changing the color of individual pixels using a program such as Adobe Photoshop.

Unlike bitmaps, vector images are not based on pixel patterns, but instead use mathematical formulas to draw lines and curves that can be combined to create an image from geometric objects such as circles and polygons. Vector images are edited by manipulating the lines and curves that make up the image using a program such as Adobe Illustrator.

Vector images have some important advantages over bitmap images. Vector images tend to be smaller than bitmap images. That’s because a bitmap image has to store color information for each individual pixel that forms the image. A vector image just has to store the mathematical formulas that make up the image, which take up less space.

Vector images are also more scalable than bitmap images. When a bitmap image is scaled up you begin to see the individual pixels that make up the image. This is most noticeable in the edges of the image. There are ways of making these jagged edges less noticeable but this often results in making the image blurry as well. When a vector image is scaled up, the image is redrawn using the mathematical formula. The resulting image is just as smooth as the original.

Unfortunately, vector formats are not well supported on the web. The two most popular image formats used on the Web, GIF and JPEG are bitmap formats. Most vector images must first be converted into bitmaps images (or rasterized) before they can be used on the Web. An exception is the SWF format used to create animations using Macromedia’s Flash animation software.

Bitmap formats are best for images that need to have a wide range of color gradations, such as most photographs. Vector formats, on the other hand, are better for images that consist of a few areas of solid color. Examples of images that are well suited for the vector format include logos and type.

Thanks message to class mates

I still remember the day when dad ask me to go to school and I replied :
“I don’t want to go school; I don’t want to know anything new”
Dad: kyun bete?
“I already know more than I want to!, I LIKE THINGS BETTER WHEN I DID”T UNDERSTAND THEM ”
But today I realized I was wrong!!,,
We have waited for this moment all our live, the moment when we leave our college life behind and step into the new world to forge our own path in life. We have counted down the seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years, and finally that moment arrived.
I find myself not a little sad, for I will be leaving behind those species (friends) that made my life and college days much better than I expected.
Thank you to all of you for four wonderful, memorable, marvelous, years that you have embodied in my life.
Thank you for those lesson that u have taught me-extended well beyond the wall of class room. (of course those teacher could never taught me!! :P)
Thank you for those moment when u criticize on me, compliment on me.
Thank you for those moment s when u noticed every single change on me.
Thank you for those moments when u said:
“bhai kitna padhta hai !!!”
And also
“abe thodi padh bhi liya kar!!!”
(according to circumstances)
Guys u have given tons of such moment, I cant calligraph all of them!!!
You all will be closer to my heart for the rest of life..going to miss u all!!

how does 64 bit os work on 32 bit processor

Will this 32-bit software run on my 64-bit operating system? or

Will this 64-bit software run on my computer?

If you've asked these questions then this tutorial should help you to understand the concepts of 32-bit and 64-bit computing. We'll look at your computer system as three parts: the hardware, the operating system and the application programs. At the end we'll look at some of the common questions people have.

32-bit versus 64-bit

As the number of bits increases there are two important benefits.

• More bits means that data can be processed in larger chunks which also means more accurately.
• More bits means our system can point to or address a larger number of locations in physical memory.

32-bit systems were once desired because they could address (point to) 4 Gigabytes (GB) of memory in one go. Some modern applications require more than 4 GB of memory to complete their tasks so 64-bit systems are now becoming more attractive because they can potentially address up to 4 billion times that many locations.

Since 1995, when Windows 95 was introduced with support for 32-bit applications, most of the software and operating system code has been 32-bit compatible.

Here is the problem, while most of the software available today is 32-bit, the processors we buy are almost all 64-bit.

So how long will the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit systems take?

The main issue is that your computer works from the hardware such as the processor (or CPU, as it is called), through the operating system (OS), to the highest level which is your applications. So the computer hardware is designed first, the matching operating systems are developed, and finally the applications appear.

We can look back at the transition from 16-bit to 32-bit Windows on 32-bit processors. It took 10 years (from 1985 to 1995) to get a 32-bit operating system and even now, more than 15 years later, there are many people still using 16-bit Windows applications on older versions of Windows.

The hardware and software vendors learnt from the previous transition, so the new operating systems have been released at the same time as the new processors. The problem this time is that there haven't been enough 64-bit applications. Ten years after the PC's first 64-bit processors, installs of 64-bit Windows are only now exceeding those of 32-bit Windows. Further evidence of this inertia is that you are probably reading this tutorial because you are looking to install your first 64-bit software.

Your computer system in three parts

Now we'll look at those three components of your system. In simple terms they are three layers with the processor or CPU as the central or lowest layer and the application as the outermost or highest layer as shown below:

To run a 64-bit operating system you need support from the lower level: the 64-bit CPU.

To run a 64-bit application you need support from all lower levels: the 64-bit OS and the 64-bit CPU.

This simplification will be enough for us to look what happens when we mix the 32-bit and 64-bit parts. But if you want to understand the issue more deeply then you will also need to consider the hardware that supports the CPU and the device drivers that allow the OS and the applications to interface with the system hardware.

What 32-bit and 64-bit combinations are compatible and will work together?

This is where we get to the practicalities and can start answering common questions.

The general rule is that 32-bit will run on a lower level 64-bit component but 64-bit does not run on a lower level 32-bit component:

• A 32-bit OS will run on a 32-bit or 64-bit processor without any problem.
• A 32-bit application will run on a 32-bit or 64-bit OS without any problem.
• But a 64-bit application will only run on a 64-bit OS and a 64-bit OS will only run on a 64-bit processor.

These two tables illustrate the same rule:

Table 1 — What is compatible if I have a 32-bit CPU?
Processor (CPU)	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Operating System (OS)	32-bit	32-bit	64-bit	64-bit
Application Program	32-bit	64-bit	32-bit	64-bit
	Yes	No	No	No

Table 2 — What is compatible if I have a 64-bit CPU?
Processor (CPU)	64-bit	64-bit	64-bit	64-bit
Operating System (OS)	64-bit	64-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Application Program	64-bit	32-bit	32-bit	64-bit
	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

The main reason that 32-bit will always run on 64-bit is that the 64-bit components have been designed to work that way. So the newer 64-bit systems are backward-compatible with the 32-bit systems (which is the main reason most of us haven't moved to 64-bit software).

An example of backward compatibility is Windows 64-bit. It has software called WOW64 that provides compatibility by emulating a 32-bit system. See the article How Windows 7 / Vista 64 Support 32-bit Applications if you want to know more. One important point that is made in that article is that it is not possible to install a 32-bit device driver on a 64-bit operating system. This is because device drivers run in parallel to the operating system. The emulation is done at the operating system level so it is available to the higher layer, the application, but it is not available to the device driver which runs on the same level.

Hardware virtualization is the exception to the rule

Another question many people have is whether a 32-bit system can run 64-bit software. As more people are looking to use 64-bit Windows they are wanting to try it out on their existing systems. So we are getting more questions about whether they can run it on their 32-bit processor or under their 32-bit OS.

Following the general rule, we would expect that you cannot run 64-bit software on a 32-bit system. Except that there is one exception called virtualization.

Virtualization creates a virtual system within the actual system. Virtualization can be achieved in hardware or software but it works best if the virtual machine is created in the system hardware. The guest operating system is not aware that there is a host operating system already running. This is the way that a 64-bit operating system can think that it is running on 64-bit hardware without being aware that there is a 32-bit operating system in the mix.

Tables 3 and 4 illustrate the result. Provided that the virtual machine can actually be created and isolated by the virtualizing software then the host OS is effectively removed from the equation, so I've grayed it out. We can now apply the general rules for a non-virtualized system to the three remaining layers.

Table 3 — What is compatible if I have a 32-bit CPU and software virtualization?
Processor (CPU)	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Host Operating System	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Guest Operating System	32-bit	32-bit	64-bit	64-bit
Application Program	32-bit	64-bit	32-bit	64-bit
	Yes	No	No	No

Table 4 — What is compatible if I have a 64-bit CPU and software virtualization?
Processor (CPU)	64-bit	64-bit	64-bit	64-bit
Host Operating System	32/64-bit	32/64-bit	32/64-bit	32/64-bit
Guest Operating System	64-bit	64-bit	32-bit	32-bit
Application Program	64-bit	32-bit	32-bit	64-bit
	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Before you hurry away to try running 64-bit in a virtual machine, you must check that your computer BIOS supports hardware virtualization. If it does not then hardware virtualization will not work even if the CPU does support it.

Emulation of the 64-bit CPU is not an option

All the feasible configurations that we have looked at so far have the processors (CPUs) running software that use the instruction set that is native to that processor. Running 64-bit software on a 32-bit processor doesn't work because the 64-bit instructions are not native to a 32-bit processor. But what if I could emulate a 64-bit processor using 32-bit software?

It is theoretically possible but practically impossible to emulate a 64-bit processor while running software on a 32-bit processor. Even if you can get non-native 64-bit emulation to work, the virtual machine that duplicates a 64-bit CPU would run very slowly because every 64-bit instruction has to be trapped and handled by the emulator. 64-bit memory pointers also have to be converted to work within the 32-bit address space.

Furthermore, my understanding is that the x86 (32-bit) processors used in PCs and Apple Macs are not able to completely emulate the x64 (64-bit) instruction set. Some 64-bit instructions cannot be trapped by the emulator. This causes the system to crash when the x86 processor tried to run those x64 instructions.