Stack vs. Heap

Stack vs. Heap

In this lesson — part of Memory Model — you'll learn stack vs. heap in C and why it matters in real work.

Why it matters

Understanding memory — allocation, references, leaks — is essential for fast, correct systems code.

Key ideas

• Stack vs. heap
• Allocation and deallocation
• References and ownership
• Leaks and how to avoid them

In practice

Here's the idea in pseudocode — the exact syntax varies by language:

// C: allocate and free
buf = alloc(1024); ... free(buf)

Try it yourself

Exercise: In C, demonstrate the difference between stack and heap allocation.

Recap

You now understand stack vs. heap and can apply it in C. Mark this lesson complete and continue to the next one.