DeviceCPU returning Unknown for 32-bit IE on 64 bit OS

[trevorgithub]

Hi,

I noticed that with this user agent string:

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; Trident/7.0; SLCC2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729; Media Center PC 6.0; .NET4.0C; InfoPath.3; .NET4.0E)

When I ask for UserAgent.getValue("DeviceCpu"), I get a value of Unknown. From the MSDN docs you found:

WOW64 A 32-bit version of Internet Explorer is running on a 64-bit processor.

So, maybe it could be updated?

Also, I guess DeviceCPU is intended to show the CPU of the device, but really the user agent string (at least in this example) tells us two things:

• the CPU of the device (which I think matches up with DeviceCPU)
• the CPU architecture of the user agent.

Maybe as a future enhancement, DeviceCPU could be supplemented with another entry that indicates Agent architecture? Just a thought.

[nielsbasjes]

I updated the DeviceCPU.
I'm thinking about what to do with the Agent Architecture thing.

[nielsbasjes]

I have chosen to ignore the application architecture for the simple reason that I do not see any useful applications of such a field and it seems to be available in only a very limited number of situations.

[trevorgithub]

So, for your information the primary use case is this:

• By default, on a 64-bit Windows machine (e.g. Windows 7), when Internet Explorer 11 (the latest/last version of IE, as you know) is started it is in 32 bit mode.
• If the user has turned on 'Enable Enhanced Protected Mode' in IE's advanced internet options, then after a restart IE 11 will be in 64 bit mode. (A similar thing exists for Window 8.1, but I think an additional property needs to be set. I image the same is true for IE 11 on Windows 10, although I haven't tested it).

Historically at least, the 32-bit version of IE has a higher level compatibility especially with add-ons . I guess it's still the case, as it's the default mode for IE 11. The 64-bit mode provides greater access to memory, and apparently is more secure.

I think with Edge, you get the 64-bit version of the browser if you're on a 64-bit machine, and the 32-bit version only if you're on a 32-bit machine.