![]() the variables that are not needed once their containing method finishes executing).Īs local variables are declared inside a method they're pushed onto the stack (just like I described for the generic stack data structure). The stack has two main purposes: (1) to keep track of the method that control should return to once the currently executing method has finished, (2) to hold the values of local variables (i.e. the call stack)Īgain, the call stack is an implementation of a stack and is an intrinsic part of the C# runtime it is an important component in the memory management of C# programs. The stack is a simple data structure and its two operations – push and pop – are fast and efficient. In other words, to place a new item onto a stack it has to go on the top, and only the item currently at the top can be removed, therefore if you wanted to remove an item from the middle of a stack, say, the third item down from the top, you would first have to remove the top two items.Ī stack of plates is a good analogy for understanding the stack data structure – to get a plate you must take one from the top (pop), to add a plate you must add it to the top of the stack (push). The defining property of stacks is that they're last-in, first-out, meaning the last item added to the stack is the first item to be removed. Let's first understand the stack data structure and then see how the call stack implements the data structure for performing its function in memory management. There are two different levels to explaining the stack: first there is the generic stack data structure, then there is the call stack, which is intrinsic to the C# runtime. "The stack" refers to the call stack, which is an implementation of the stack data structure. ![]() ![]() This post aims to explain what the stack and heap are, and particularly their relevance to C# programs. By Liam Mooney Apprentice Engineer II 8th July 2022īased on my reading, "the stack" and "the heap" are clearly important concepts for understanding how memory is managed in C# programs, however until recently I had only a superficial understanding of them and their role.
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