Thought: A64 refers to the instruction set architecture, aarch64 is the 64-bit architecture, armv8/armv9 are also architectures, Trustzone is a type of security architecture, they are all architectures, confused? What is arm64?
1. armv7/armv8/armv9 are the real architectures of ARM. The term architecture can be understood as a technical specification, a technical reference, a design, in short, it is a technology. With an architecture, your product (<span>core IP</span>) can be designed to follow this architecture. For example, the <span>cortex-A715</span> ARM Core IP is based on the ARMv9 architecture.
2. aarch64 is the 64-bit architecture, aarch32 is the 32-bit architecture. The armv7 architecture only includes aarch32; armv8 includes both aarch64 and aarch32 architectures; armv9 gradually removes the aarch32 architecture and will support only aarch64 architecture in the future.
3. A64 is the 64-bit instruction set architecture, A32 is the 32-bit instruction set architecture. aarch64 uses the A64 instruction set, while aarch32 uses the A32 instruction set.
4. ARM64 is not a term or vocabulary used by ARM, it is merely a term fabricated by the Linux Kernel. In ARM hardware/software architecture specifications, and in other operating systems or software (such as Optee, ATF, etc.), the term ARM64 does not exist. You can also check the more than 11,500 pages of the <span>ARM</span> manual, and you will not find this term.
5. Trustzone is also a type of architecture, a security architecture. The armv7, armv8-aarch32, armv8-aarch64, and armv9 architectures all include the ARM Trustzone security architecture.
6. <span>ARM Core</span> is the IP of ARM. In addition to <span>core IP</span>, ARM has various other IPs, such as <span>TZC400</span>, <span>MMU-550</span>, <span>GIC-600</span>, <span>CryptoCell713</span>, etc.