Ok, I was surprised to see that some users thought Haiku would come with 64-bit for R1. I for one was aware that it would be only 32-bit & not sure where people got the impression otherwise.
For R1, 32-bit makes perfect sense and I believe is the best choice.
Now, after some thought, I think that for R2 it should only be 64-bit & I'll quickly point out why.
I truly believe that it is a bad idea to try to do both 32-bit & 64-bit versions at the same time because you end up splitting up resources. Better to work on 32 or 64-bit but not both at the same point in time. If you work on just the one version then it can become better than trying to do two versions at once ( 1 good versus 2 so-so ).
1) By the time R2 starts, there should be lots of 64-bit computer users. When R2 is finished it could be that 64-bit has 70% or greater market share.
2) 32-bit is more efficient & uses less memory resources for memory below 4GB. Still, considering Haiku uses about 128MB of RAM. Going to 64-bit will increase memory usage between 30-40%. To make this next example easy we'll use 50%. 128*50%=64MB. So, those with RAM less than 4GB would lose out on 64MB ( next to nothing ) while those with 4GB+ would gain access to memory above 3.3GB barrier.
3) There still would be many 32-bit programs out there which would run fine on 64-bit OS ( & have same RAM usage as under 32-bit OS ). Could also run 64-bit programs if any are created.
4) Better to go to 64-bit with R2 than leave it till later and more & more code is added to Haiku making it harder to do with R3. 64-bit may not be needed with R2 but better to do it sooner, when easier, rather than later, when more work has to be done.
5) I don't see any program or game make use of the extra RAM on Haiku - to be fair, I believe 2 to 3GB would be lots of RAM to handle everything. But those with 4GB+ could use the additional RAM to multi-task multiple complex programs. Or maybe create an automatic cache system that is based off installed RAM. More RAM = bigger caches.
The only downside is those with 32-bit systems will have to upgrade to 64-bit system or stick using R1. Haiku R1 could also receive a few improvements and bug fixes to become 1.x - just enough to keep 32-bit users happy for awhile longer but nothing major that it takes focus away from working on 64-bit R2.
Just something to think about for now until R1 is released. After which we can see how many people use 64-bit computers and discuss it further.
AND PLEASE DO NOT PUSH 64-BIT FOR R1. THAT SHIP HAS SAILED.
