Technology: December 2014 Archives

Foxtrot Alpha: Exclusive: Meet The USAF's Long Awaited KC-46A Pegasus Tanker

Based on the Boeing 767, the first 18 KC-46As are due to McConnell AFB by the end of 2017, and Altus AFB will be the schoolhouse for pilots and boomers. MORE: Confessions Of A USAF KC-135 'Flying Gas Station' Boom Operator. And TSgt Jamie Morton, the "photog boom," shares dramatic photos of receiver aircraft from a KC-135 Boom Operator's point of view.

Converting 32-bit code to 64-bit code

Some resources for avoiding pitfalls when moving C or C++ software from a 32-bit computer to a 64-bit computer:

• Apple: 64-bit transition guide: Making code 64-bit clean
• Viva64: A Collection of Examples of 64-bit Errors in Real Programs
• Viva64:20 issues of porting C++ code on the 64-bit platform
• The Unix System: 64bit and Data Size Neutrality
• IBM: Porting Linux applications to 64-bit systems
• MSDN: Rules for Using Pointers

In 2008, legendary computer scientist Donald Knuth complained about gcc on 64-bit platforms forcing the wasteful use of 64-bit pointers, when 32-bit pointers would suffice, and that the man page advertised an option to permit this, although it's only available for the obsolete MIPS platform. This Ubuntu bug page pursues the question.