WIN32 程序运行在保护模式下的，保护模式的历史可以追溯到 80286。而今 80286 已成为了历史。所以我们将只把精力集中于 80386 及后续的X86 系列 CPU。Windows 把每一个 Win32 应用程序放到分开的虚拟地址空间中去运行，也就是说每一个应用程序都拥有其相互独立的 4GB 地址空间，当然这倒不是说它们都拥有 4GB 的物理地址空间，而只是说能够在 4GB 的范围内寻址。操作系统将会在应用程序运行时完成 4GB 的虚拟地址和物理内存地址间的转换。这就要求编写应用程序时必须格守 Windows 的规范，否则极易引起内存的保护模式错误。而过去的 Win16 内存模式下，所有的应用程序都运行于同一个 4GB 地址空间，它们可以彼此"看"到别的程序的内容，这极易导致一个应用程序破坏另一个应用程序甚至是操作系统的数据或代码。
和 16 位 Windows 下的把代码分成 DATA，CODE 等段的内存模式不同，WIN32 只有一种内存模式，即 FLAT 模式，意思是"平坦"的内存模式，再没有 64K 的段大小限制，所有的 WIN32 的应用程序运行在一个连续、平坦、巨大的 4GB 的空间中。这同时也意味着您无须和段寄存器打交道，您可以用任意的段寄存器寻址任意的地址空间，这对于程序员来说是非常方便的，这也使得用32位汇编语言和用C语言一样方便。 在Win32下编程，有许多重要的规则需要遵守。有一条很重要的是：Windows 在内部频繁使用 ESI，EDI，EBP，EBX 寄存器，而且并不去检测这些寄存器的值是否被更改，这样当您要使用这些寄存器时必须先保存它们的值，待用完后再恢复它们，一个最显著的应用例子就是 Windows 的 CallBack 函数中。
原文:
Win32 programs run in protected mode which is available since 80286. But 80286 is now history. So we only have to concern ourselves with 80386 and its descendants. Windows runs each Win32 program in separated virtual space. That means each Win32 program will have its own 4 GB address space. However, this doesn't mean every win32 program has 4GB of physical memory, only that the program can address any address in that range. Windows will do anything necessary to make the memory the program references valid. Of course, the program must adhere to the rules set by Windows, else it will cause the dreaded General Protection Fault. Each program is alone in its address space. This is in contrast to the situation in Win16. All Win16 programs can *see* each other. Not so under Win32. This feature helps reduce the chance of one program writing over other program's code/data.
Memory model is also drastically different from the old days of the 16-bit world. Under Win32, we need not be concerned with memory model or segments anymore! There's only one memory model: Flat memory model. There's no more 64K segments. The memory is a large continuous space of 4 GB. That also means you don't have to play with segment registers. You can use any segment register to address any point in the memory space. That's a GREAT help to programmers. This is what makes Win32 assembly programming as easy as C.
When you program under Win32, you must know some important rules. One such rule is that, Windows uses esi, edi, ebp and ebx internally and it doesn't expect the values in those registers to change. So remember this rule first: if you use any of those four registers in your callback function, don't ever forget to restore them before returning control to Windows. A callback function is your own function which is called by Windows. The obvious example is the windows procedure. This doesn't mean that you cannot use those four registers, you can. Just be sure to restore them back before passing control back to Windows.
