64-Bit-Safe Device Drivers

The Solaris system can run in 64-bit mode on appropriate hardware and provides a 64-bit kernel with a 64-bit address space for applications. To update a device driver to be 64-bit ready, driver writers need to understand the 32-bit and 64-bit C data type models, know how to use the system derived types and the fundamental C data types, and understand specific driver issues, such as how to enable a 64-bit driver and a 32-bit application to share data structures.

For details on making a device driver ready for a 64-bit environment, see Appendix F, Making a Device Driver 64-Bit Ready .