[AccessD] 32->64 bit Conversion

[James Button]

AFAIK

As you say - the only really tangible benefit to users was the availability of
more memory within the app.
As in the limiting factor to the number of worksheets is memory 
With the 3GB limit on 32 bit windows 
And that being limited to within the actual RAM, less that acquired by the video
board 
(as in it may have 512MB memory, but will use some of the system RAM if the
video resolution, and processing requires it) 
So a 4GB RAM system running high resolution screens and doing games  type object
manipulation, lighting etc. may acquire more than 1GB of the RAM that x32
windows was allowed to use.

- So, coming to App's themselves - OK Excel
they are usually designed with fixed limits to the RAM used for activities - 
As in 
I/O buffering, 
displayed range management, 
Styles, 
CF's, 
Pivot tables, 
Copy and Paste storage (is it 12 selections as a default) 
Undo (again - there is a small number of undo'able  actions, although that was,
and maybe still is a Registry entry for that.

So there are lots of 'storage assignments within the Excel app, and each will
probably have an associated control/index/whatever 'table'
Those are frequently the cause of out of memory problems
Also note from Task Manager, the RAM specified as not swappable  for the App - 
Just because the App is only using 64 bit addresses instead of 32 bit ones does
not always mean that there is detrimental effect on those storage and entry
control RAM allocations.
Indeed - while there may be the capability to use more RAM  and pagefile with
the x64 version, it will possibly increase the amount of RAM used for each entry
in those control tables.

So using x64 mode may actually reduce the apps capability to do certain things.

Think of it as having all the numeric entries as longlong and all the strings as
doublebyte characters.

For instance with, maybe 4000 CF's on a sheet set at row level, and then
modified by the user copy and paste, insert and deletion of ranges I have
experienced worksheets where Excel could not insert more than 30 rows, and hung
as soon as any undo was selected. 

Maybe going back to 2010 Excel will avoid some of those limits, as well as some
of the GUI interface annoyances   


 Problem is that the current (not declared unsafe) office versions are 2016,
2019, 2021? And 365 or Office App (was 365 Pro?)
And all the Office modules installed on a system as a unit have to be the same
x64 or x32 mode.

JimB


-----Original Message-----
From: AccessD
<accessd-bounces+jamesbutton=blueyonder.co.uk at databaseadvisors.com> On Behalf Of
Bill Benson
Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:57 PM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
<accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
Subject: Re: [AccessD] 32->64 bit Conversion

64 bit t can use more memory- usually a good thing. However the one major
app I was involved with over past 6 years gained nothing whatever in speed.

Not only that but we had some kind of limits that would be reached on
number of reports that could print individually in code - we hoped it would
increase 64 bit but it did not.

I want others to give their impression too but the program we had was
larger, using more class modules and calculations than anything I ever
worked on in Access and we gained nothing going to 64 bit.

On Tue, Nov 9, 2021 at 3:50 PM Arthur Fuller <fuller.artful at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I guess that I'm already almost halfway down the path, but it has become
> time to wonder why I am doing this in the first place. The obvious answer
> is that the client requested it, and while an engineer in his own field, he
> is not a software guy (hence my employment). But it's become time for me at
> least to pose the question, What am  gaining by this move to 64-bit?
> Performance? And if so, are there any benchmarks to verify this?
> Compatibility with the default Office installation? And if so, why is that
> important? Com[atinility with current and future hardware? Something else
> that hasn't occurred to me?
> I am as willing as anyone to spend my client's dollars, but I also have, at
> least intermittently, a conscience, and would like to know what benefits I
> am delivering for the dollars the client is spending.
> Suggestions in the way of justification are invited.
>
> --
> Arthur
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> AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
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