A fat binary (or multiarchitecture binary) is a computer executable program or library which has been expanded (or "fattened") with code native to multiple instruction sets which can consequently be run on multiple processor types.[1] This results in a file larger than a normal one-architecture binary file, thus the name.
The usual method of implementation is to include a version of the machine code for each instruction set, preceded by a single entry point with code compatible with all operating systems, which executes a jump to the appropriate section. Alternative implementations store different executables in different forks, each with its own entry point that is directly used by the operating system.
The use of fat binaries is not common in operating system software; there are several alternatives to solve the same problem, such as the use of an installer program to choose an architecture-specific binary at install time (such as with Android multiple APKs), selecting an architecture-specific binary at runtime (such as with Plan 9's union directories and GNUstep's fat bundles),[2][3] distributing software in source code form and compiling it in-place, or the use of a virtual machine (such as with Java) and just-in-time compilation.
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