hostarchitecture
Host architecture refers to the hardware and software platform on which a computer program is executed or built, as distinct from the target architecture for which the program is intended to run. In practice, it encompasses the processor instruction set, word size, endianness, memory model, and the operating system’s application binary interface that the software relies on. These factors influence portability, performance, and compatibility of software across different machines.
The term is used in several contexts. In virtualization and emulation, the host architecture is the architecture
Common host architectures include x86-64 (amd64), ARM64 (aarch64), PowerPC 64-bit, IBM S/390, and MIPS, among others.
See also: target architecture, cross-compilation, virtualization, emulation, ABI.