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How memory is allocated in .Net application

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questioncsharpdata-structuresperformancecareer
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  • T Tridip Bhattacharjee

    thanks for the answer but still few lines are not very clear. can u plzz explain it more elaborately in easy way. you said not clear "As you put something on the stack the pointer goes up, you take something off it goes down. If you have, say, an int (10), a string ("ab") and an int (20) on the stack; Stack add 0 - 10 Stack add 1 - a Stack add 2 - b Stack add 3 - 20 Stack add 4 - < stack pointer points here, put something else on and this is where it goes and then wanted to change the string from "ab" to "abc"...where do you store the "c"? There is no space as your second int is on top of it so to increase the string from "ab" to "abc" would require reordering everything above it. So you can only put things on the stack that don't change in size. An int is always going to be 32 bits for example (depending on os and hardware). 2) you said but not clear "Of course value types can end up on the heap too due to things already mentioned, due to boxing, static variables etc,"

    tbhattacharjee

    F Offline
    F Offline
    F ES Sitecore
    wrote on last edited by
    #13

    The heap is just a big section of memory that you can allocate if you need, it's a free-for-all where objects are placed wherever there is space. A stack in a small, pre-allocated piece of memory that you use in a specific way. Imagine a stack of plates. Each time you want to store something you place it on the top of the stack of plates. On top of the existing plates is the only place a new plate can go. To take plates off, you can only take off the top plate. Think of this code

    function A()
    {
    int x = 1;
    Person p = new Person();
    B();
    int y = 2;
    }

    function B()
    {
    int x = 100;
    }

    When "A" is run, 1 is put on the stack for x Stack address: value at that address 0: 1 (x) 1: 0 3: 0 4: 0 5: 0 6: 0 7: 0 8: 0 9: 0 A new "Person" is created so a memory allocation request is made and the OS gives you memory address 10,000, so your Person data is stored at memory address 10,000 on the heap. "p" is actually the number 10,000, ie the place on the heap the Person can be found, so p goes on the stack 0: 1 (x) 1: 10,000 (p) 3: 0 4: 0 5: 0 6: 0 7: 0 8: 0 9: 0 The code has to call "B", however it needs to know where to come back to after B, so the address in memory of the current line of code is stored on the stack. Let's say that is address 1234 0: 1 (x) 1: 10,000 (p) 3: 1234 (ref to code in function A) 4: 0 5: 0 6: 0 7: 0 8: 0 9: 0 Now stack slots 0, 1 and 3 belong to function "A" and we start running code in "B". "B" defines x as 100 so that goes on the stack. 0: 1 (x) 1: 10,000 (p) 3: 1234 (ref to code in function A) 4: 100 (x) 5: 0 6: 0 7: 0 8: 0 9: 0 So stack spots 0-3 belong to A and 4 belongs to B. B is done so we de-allocate everything it put on the stack 0: 1 (x) 1: 10,000 (p) 3: 1234 (ref to code in function A) 4: 0 5: 0 6: 0 7: 0 8: 0 9: 0 To work out where to go back to we read the top-most value of the stack (1234) and resume executing the code at that address. As we have read the value off the stack we also remove it 0: 1 (x) 1: 10,000 (p) 3: 0 4: 0 5: 0 6: 0 7: 0 8: 0 9: 0 This will take us back to the "int y = 2" line in A. Note that not only are we back in the code for A right where we left off, but all of A's variables are on the stack for us to access. So define y = 2 0: 1 (x) 1: 10,000 (p) 3: 2 (y) 4: 0 5: 0 6: 0 7: 0 8: 0 9: 0 A finishes so all of its variables are taken from the stack, and as "p" was a reference, the object at that reference is dispo

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    • T Tridip Bhattacharjee

      thanks for the answer but still few lines are not very clear. can u plzz explain it more elaborately in easy way. you said not clear "As you put something on the stack the pointer goes up, you take something off it goes down. If you have, say, an int (10), a string ("ab") and an int (20) on the stack; Stack add 0 - 10 Stack add 1 - a Stack add 2 - b Stack add 3 - 20 Stack add 4 - < stack pointer points here, put something else on and this is where it goes and then wanted to change the string from "ab" to "abc"...where do you store the "c"? There is no space as your second int is on top of it so to increase the string from "ab" to "abc" would require reordering everything above it. So you can only put things on the stack that don't change in size. An int is always going to be 32 bits for example (depending on os and hardware). 2) you said but not clear "Of course value types can end up on the heap too due to things already mentioned, due to boxing, static variables etc,"

      tbhattacharjee

      L Offline
      L Offline
      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #14

      Go back and read OriginalGriff's post agian.

      Tridip Bhattacharjee wrote:

      a string ("ab")

      A String[^] is not a value type, so it does not go on the stack. You really need to go and study some reference guides. Asking questions here is not a good way to learn the internal structure or implementation of a programming language.

      T 1 Reply Last reply
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      • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

        Tridip Bhattacharjee wrote:

        is there any book which i can download its pdf version

        Do not ask that here again! Most (if not all) PDF copies of books are in violation of copyright: and we do not support that in any way, shape, or form. Bear in mind that nearly all of the 11 million member here are in the business of getting paid to write something it is very easy to copy and download and you might see part of why! You will not get links to anything illegal or immoral here. And if you ask again, there is a good chance you may be banned from the site...permanently. There are several different type of heap in .NET - and it really does get complicated. Seriously, find a book - and buy it - it will be able to go into such things in a lot more detail than we can here.

        Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

        J Offline
        J Offline
        jschell
        wrote on last edited by
        #15

        OriginalGriff wrote:

        Most (if not all) PDF copies of books are in violation of copyright:

        Eh? There are most definitely books one can download in pdf format for free which do not violate copyright. Given the sum total of all books ever in print then one might suppose that pdfs of all of those, percentage wise, would be violating copyrights. However books published in the past 20 years, either popular ones or those with a low sell rate can be found for free, legally, or for sale, again legally, at various places. All in pdf format. And this includes programming. One might hypothesize that most, percentage wise, of the good books on programming would in fact require a payment. But would be downloadable. And if one expands the definition the percentage is going to go up when one considers content from e-books.

        T 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • L Lost User

          Go back and read OriginalGriff's post agian.

          Tridip Bhattacharjee wrote:

          a string ("ab")

          A String[^] is not a value type, so it does not go on the stack. You really need to go and study some reference guides. Asking questions here is not a good way to learn the internal structure or implementation of a programming language.

          T Offline
          T Offline
          Tridip Bhattacharjee
          wrote on last edited by
          #16

          ok i will try to find out right book for memory management. just tell me i have this code String s="Hello"; when the above line execute then what will happen? where the value "Hello" will be stored? in stack or heap? and where the memory location for "s" will be stored? thanks

          tbhattacharjee

          L 2 Replies Last reply
          0
          • J jschell

            OriginalGriff wrote:

            Most (if not all) PDF copies of books are in violation of copyright:

            Eh? There are most definitely books one can download in pdf format for free which do not violate copyright. Given the sum total of all books ever in print then one might suppose that pdfs of all of those, percentage wise, would be violating copyrights. However books published in the past 20 years, either popular ones or those with a low sell rate can be found for free, legally, or for sale, again legally, at various places. All in pdf format. And this includes programming. One might hypothesize that most, percentage wise, of the good books on programming would in fact require a payment. But would be downloadable. And if one expands the definition the percentage is going to go up when one considers content from e-books.

            T Offline
            T Offline
            Tridip Bhattacharjee
            wrote on last edited by
            #17

            just tell me a books name which discuss in details how memory is allocated when we run our program. thanks

            tbhattacharjee

            P 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • T Tridip Bhattacharjee

              ok i will try to find out right book for memory management. just tell me i have this code String s="Hello"; when the above line execute then what will happen? where the value "Hello" will be stored? in stack or heap? and where the memory location for "s" will be stored? thanks

              tbhattacharjee

              L Offline
              L Offline
              Lost User
              wrote on last edited by
              #18

              Did you actually read the explanation that OriginalGriff posted, or the previous message that I wrote? A string is not a value type so its data will be stored on the heap. Its reference pointer s will be on the stack. If you want a simple explanation then read Charles Petzold's excellent .NET Book Zero[^].

              T S 2 Replies Last reply
              0
              • L Lost User

                Did you actually read the explanation that OriginalGriff posted, or the previous message that I wrote? A string is not a value type so its data will be stored on the heap. Its reference pointer s will be on the stack. If you want a simple explanation then read Charles Petzold's excellent .NET Book Zero[^].

                T Offline
                T Offline
                Tridip Bhattacharjee
                wrote on last edited by
                #19

                i saw the index of this book .NET Book Zero but unfortunately i have not seen any memory management(heap and stack) related chapter there. are you sure that this books will discuss about memory management(heap and stack)? need suggestion.

                tbhattacharjee

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • L Lost User

                  There's a legal PDF Book linked here: http://www.codeproject.com/Messages/4977275/free-introductory-book-on-Csharp-programming-from.aspx[^] I don't know if it covers memory management but it probably contains other useful stuff.

                  Tridip Bhattacharjee wrote:

                  share knowledge if you know what is high frequency heap?

                  The CLR (Common Language Runtime) uses the high frequency heap to store frequently used data required to run a .Net program, e.g. method tables. It's nothing that's particularly important to know for writing a .Net application.

                  T Offline
                  T Offline
                  Tridip Bhattacharjee
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #20

                  thanks for your time and explanation. would you mind to discuss briefly what is high frequency heap and how it is different than a normal heap? i hard the static class related info stored in high frequency heap but not sure is it true or not. why static class related info stored in heap? looking for your guidance.

                  tbhattacharjee

                  P 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • T Tridip Bhattacharjee

                    ok i will try to find out right book for memory management. just tell me i have this code String s="Hello"; when the above line execute then what will happen? where the value "Hello" will be stored? in stack or heap? and where the memory location for "s" will be stored? thanks

                    tbhattacharjee

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #21

                    And in response to the message you sent and then deleted: unless you actually read the book you are not likely to learn anything.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • T Tridip Bhattacharjee

                      thanks for your time and explanation. would you mind to discuss briefly what is high frequency heap and how it is different than a normal heap? i hard the static class related info stored in high frequency heap but not sure is it true or not. why static class related info stored in heap? looking for your guidance.

                      tbhattacharjee

                      P Offline
                      P Offline
                      Pete OHanlon
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #22

                      Seriously, we aren't here to do your thinking and research for you. I take it you have an interview soon. You cannot possibly cram in enough to bluff your way through based on random questions. You have been posting questions here long enough to have figured out that you need to learn the basics first. Richard has given you a great book to get started with. Beyond this, if you need to know things like the high frequency heap, then you need to learn how to use google and apply some critical thinking. Learning is your responsibility.

                      1 Reply Last reply
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                      • T Tridip Bhattacharjee

                        just tell me a books name which discuss in details how memory is allocated when we run our program. thanks

                        tbhattacharjee

                        P Offline
                        P Offline
                        Pete OHanlon
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #23

                        Have a search through the MSDN magazine back issues. They have a lot of great information there.

                        T 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • P Pete OHanlon

                          Have a search through the MSDN magazine back issues. They have a lot of great information there.

                          T Offline
                          T Offline
                          Tridip Bhattacharjee
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #24

                          if possible give me some good link from MSDN magazine which relevant for my question.

                          tbhattacharjee

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                          0
                          • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                            I'm not going to answer your questions - but not because I'm nasty: because the questions are wrong! :laugh: The distinctions between stack and heap isn't as simple as you might think: and a variable in C# probably isn't what you think it is either - which is at the root of the "wrongness" of your questions. So: what is a variable? Simply put, a variable in a method is always allocated on the stack - but it's content may or may not be on the stack, depending on what type of data the variable refers to. If it's a ValueType, then the variable is allocated enough space to hold the whole value: and int is a ValueType, and so is a Point. These are always the same size: you cannot extend the size of a ValueType in any way. If it's a reference type, then the variable always holds a reference to the actual data, rather than the data itself, and again the variable is a fixed size - only this time it is always either 32 bits or 64 bits depending on the environment your code is executing in. String is a reference type, so is any array. And that's important: because all reference values are allocated on the Heap: never, ever on the stack.

                            int i = 6;

                            Integers are ValueTypes, so "i" is on the stack, and is the value of the integer - in this case 6.

                            Button b = new Button();

                            Button is a reference type, so the actual data for the new instance is stored on the heap - but "b" is the variable and it is located on the stack, and contains a reference to the actual instance. But...that doesn't mean that all ValueType instances are on the stack - they aren't: they can be embedded in reference type instances:

                            public class MyClass
                            {
                            public int Value;
                            }
                            ...
                            MyClass mc= new MyClass();
                            mc.Value = 6;

                            MyClass is a reference type (all classes are reference types, all structs are value types) so the instance data is on the heap, and that includes the value type integer "Value" it contains. "mc" is on the stack and holds a reference to the heap based actual data. From here it starts to get very, very complicated - there is something called "boxing" to consider as well, where a stack based value is copied to the heap and passed as a reference - far too complicated for a little text box like this one! Get a c# book - they all explain this with pictures (which helps a lot) and when you've read it have a look at this:

                            S Offline
                            S Offline
                            Santosh K Tripathi
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #25

                            5+ from me also. :)

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • L Lost User

                              Did you actually read the explanation that OriginalGriff posted, or the previous message that I wrote? A string is not a value type so its data will be stored on the heap. Its reference pointer s will be on the stack. If you want a simple explanation then read Charles Petzold's excellent .NET Book Zero[^].

                              S Offline
                              S Offline
                              Santosh K Tripathi
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #26

                              Nice Book.

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