In this post, we are going to discuss the differences Between a Stack and a Heap. So it’s great excitement having to know how these two memories are work?
What is a Stack?
In a computer, a stack is a memory block that keeps temporary variables created by a function. It’s a kind of short-term memory.
During runtime, variables are defined, stored, and initialised all throughout the stack. After the computational task is performed, the variable’s memory will be immediately removed.
The stack segment frequently contains methods, local variables, and reference variables.
So, what is a heap, exactly?
The heap is a memory structure used by programming languages to keep track of global variables. By default, all global variables are saved on the heap.
The heap can be used to dynamically allocate memory. For one thing, the heap cannot run automatically, and the CPU has little influence over it. It’s more like the free-floating zone of a memory.
There are significant distinctions between Stack and Heap
The major distinctions between the stack and the heap are summarised in the table below:
| Parameter | Stack | Heap |
| Data Structures of various types | A stack is a Linear Data Structure. | A heap is a Data structure that is organized in a hierarchical manner. |
| Implementation | A stack can be implemented in three ways: as a simple array, as a dynamic memory stack or as a Linked list stack. | Arrays and trees can be used to implement heaps. |
| Limit of space size | The size of the stack is limited by the operating system. | There is no restriction on the amount of memory that can be used. |
| Space Management | The operating system manages space effectively, ensuring that the memory is never scattered. | The heap space is not being used as well as it should be. As blocks of memory are allocated and then freed, memory can become fragmented. |
| Memory Allocation | A contiguous amount of memory is allocated. | Memory is allocated in random order. |
| Main issue | Shortage of memory. | Memory Fragmentation. |
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