Call stack, stack frame and activation record

 

 

 

 

Written By: B. Vinoth Raj, Senior Software Consultant, Mindfire Solutions

   

What is Call Stack?
Call Stack is a stack that contains a collection of stack frames.

What is a Stack Frame?
A Stack Frame, also called as activation record, contains information about function call.

• When a program runs, the call stack contains at least one stack frame, which is for the main function. A stack frame is created whenever a function is invoked.
• Arguments are inserted into stack frame from right to left.
• The stack grows from higher addresses to lower addresses
• A stack pointer register is used to mark the “top” of the stack.