Memory Layout

Definitions

1. The arrangement of a program's or data structure's elements in memory, including field ordering, padding for alignment, pointer sizes, and the division of address space into stack, heap, text, data, and BSS segments. Understanding memory layout is essential for FFI, serialization, and cache optimization.

   In plain English: How data is physically arranged in a computer's memory — where each field sits, how much space it takes, and where the gaps are.

   Example: "Reordering the struct fields by size reduced padding waste from 24 bytes to 4 and improved cache line utilization."

Related Terms

• Interrupt
• Memory Allocation
• Level Triggered
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• Memory Alignment
• Memory Zeroing
• OS Kernel
• Qemu
• Real-Time System
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• Calling Convention