X86
x86 is an instruction set architecture (ISA) designed for the Intel 8086 and 8088 chips, 16-bit microprocessors first produced in 1978[1]
The 8086 chip achieved historic importnace due to a remarkable decision, made joint
Remarkably, around this time Intel and Microsoft jointly made a decision to maintain backward compatibility in both hardware and software, with the result that all subsequent "Intel" processor chips could always execute the original x86 instructions. This agreement would later have a profound impact on the Personal Computer industry, and came to be known as the "WinTel" agreement.
Furthermore, this joint decision meant that any program which ran on the original Microsoft DOS operating system, whose hardware platform was always guaranteed to be x86, continued to execute successfully on later versions of Microsoft operating systems.
This decision to maintain backward compatibility of hardware and software laid the groundwork for the subsequent success of the x86 family of microprocessors, and the IBM compatible PCs which contain them.
References
- ↑ ["http://www.intel.com/museum/online/hist_micro/hof/index.htm" "Intel Museum: The Microprocessor Hall of Fame"].