Linux processes execute in a virtual environment that makes it appear as if each process had the entire address space of the CPU available to itself. This virtual address space extends from address 0 all the way to the maximum address. On a 32-bit platform, such as IA-32, the maximum address is 232 - 1 or 0xffffffff. On a 64-bit platform, such as IA-64, this is 264 -1 or 0xffffffffffffffff.

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