Why Programs Use Stack, Heap, and Other Memory Segments

📚 Get the Computer Memory and Architecture E-Book Collection at: https://bitlemon.lemonsqueezy.com/che... The virtual memory of a process is divided into several regions, each serving a specific purpose: code, data and BSS, heap, stack, the operating system’s kernel space, and potentially other segments. In this video, I go over why this segmentation is so important and what each segment actually does. SUMMARY The main segments of a program's virtual space are: • Text/Code: The executable instructions of the program. Loaded from the binary (compiled) file, found on the disk. • Data & BSS: Global and static variables. The data segment stores initialized variables, while the BSS segment stores uninitialized variables. • Heap: Memory area used for dynamic memory allocation during program runtime. Uses a memory allocator to track free and occupied memory addresses. Memory release is fast, but allocation could be slow (compared to the stack). • Stack: Memory area used for storing function parameters, local variables, and the callers return address, among other things. It uses a data structure called a Stack Frame to encapsulate all information of an active function. It uses a simple pointer (Stack Pointer) to track the top of the stack. Memory allocation and release are very fast. • OS Kernel: Reserved for the operating system’s pages. Helps the program to execute privileged (operating system) code such as reading and writing to a storage device or sending data over the network. LINKS 📚 Computer Memory and Architecture E-Book Collection: https://bitlemon.lemonsqueezy.com/che... 📚 BitLemon Store: https://bitlemon.lemonsqueezy.com?utm... SOURCES The information in this video is mainly based on the book: Operating System Concepts (10th Edition) by Abraham Silberschatz, Peter B. Galvin, and Greg Gagne. TABLE OF CONTENTS 00:00 Introduction to Processes 00:38 Virtual Memory Segments 01:53 Text/Code Segment 02:14 Data & BSS Segments 03:14 Heap Segment 04:07 Stack Segment 05:38 OS Kernel Segment ATTRIBUTION Some of the elements in the video were designed by vectorpocket / macrovector / rawpixel.com / Freepik at freepik.com. #computerscience #memorymanagement #computermemory #operatingsystem #stack #heap