Knowledge Check - Compiling

1. What are the two most popular instruction set architectures?

The x86 and x64 (x86-64) family is very common for desktops and laptops. ARM is very common for mobile devices. There are plenty of others, but those are currently the majority of all computing devices.

2. True/False. Binary is universal; nearly all computers use the same single set of instructions.

False. Each computer has its own instruction set, though instruction set architectures help to align many computers to the same handful of instruction sets. Even still, both x86/x64 and ARM are both very popular, so no single instruction set architecture rules the world.

3. What is the name of C#’s virtual machine?

The CLR or the Common Language Runtime is the name of C#’s virtual machine. It does quite a bit, beyond just understanding the virtual instruction set C# code compiles to, but this is a key service it provides.

4. Name two programming languages besides C#.

The list is seemingly endless, but the book mentions C++, Java, Visual Basic, F#, and a few others.

5. What is the name of the virtual instruction set that C# compiles to?

It compiles to Common Intermediate Language (CIL) though IL and MSIL (Microsoft Intemediate Language) are not wrong answers either, as those are just variations on the name.