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A stack is a data structure in which last item inserted is taken out first . That's why they are known as LIFO (last in first out). Inserting an item in stack is termed as push and taking an item out from stack I s termed as pop. Stack pointer is the pointer that points to the top of the stack or that points the item at the top of the stack and help in adding or deleting the item from the top of stack.

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Q: How is the stack and stack pointer work?
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What is top pointer of stack?

top pointer of a stack is the pointer that refers to the top most element of the stack.


Can stack be as a pointer?

A stack is a data structure in which last item inserted is taken out first . That's why they are known as LIFO (last in first out). Inserting an item in stack is termed as push and taking an item out from stack I s termed as pop. Stack pointer is the pointer that points to the top of the stack or that points the item at the top of the stack and help in adding or deleting the item from the top of stack.


Why must the stack pointer be initialized at the beginning of every program?

Because the stack pointer marks the top of the stack. If it is not initialised, it is not possible to determine where the next stack frame will go.


What function for stack pointer of the register?

A stack pointer is a register pointing to the top of a stack. It supports the fundamental stack manipulations (push and pop) in an efficient manner. Most micro processor hardware has build-in hardware support for stack pointers, typically both in form of dedicated stack pointer registers and in form of addressing modes which support the creation and maintenance of stacks through general-purpose pointer registers. In software, many programming languages feature constructs suited for implementation of stack pointers within the high-level language (such as post-increment and pre-decrement operators in C).


Is the stack is also known as LIFO?

True, unless you start messing about with the stack pointer.

Related questions

What is the function of a stack pointer?

Stack pointer points to the topmost / most recently referenced location on the stack; - Nutan


What is top pointer of stack?

top pointer of a stack is the pointer that refers to the top most element of the stack.


Can stack be as a pointer?

A stack is a data structure in which last item inserted is taken out first . That's why they are known as LIFO (last in first out). Inserting an item in stack is termed as push and taking an item out from stack I s termed as pop. Stack pointer is the pointer that points to the top of the stack or that points the item at the top of the stack and help in adding or deleting the item from the top of stack.


How does push work on registers and variables?

The PUSH instruction decrements the stack pointer by the size of the operand and then stores its operand at the memory address pointed to by the stack pointer. This leaves the stack pointer always pointing to the last element pushed onto the stack.The POP instruction reverses the sequence, retrieving the operand first, and then incrementing the stack pointer by the size of the operand.Also, PUSH and POP do not work on variables - they only work on register values. You can pop/push a variable, however, by using a register and then storing/retrieving the register to/from memory.


Why stack data starts from one location less then stack pointer's register address?

Actually, stack data starts one location greater than the stack pointer. In the Intel design, the stack pointer always points to the next location to be used on a push, and pushes always decrement the pointer. It is more correct to say that the stack region to be used next is one location less than the stack pointer's register address.


Situation where a stack pointer is used?

Accessing a stack.


What is the function of the stack counter?

Its not a stack counter - its a stack pointer. The stack pointer is a register that points to the top of the stack. In the Intel configuration, it points to the next item to be popped off the stack. To push an item requires that the stack pointer be decremented first, and then the item is written. The inverse operation - the pop - requires read then increment.


Why must the stack pointer be initialized at the beginning of every program?

Because the stack pointer marks the top of the stack. If it is not initialised, it is not possible to determine where the next stack frame will go.


How is the old stack pointer value recovered on a function return?

If your stack grows bottom-up, it's decremented when you leave a function; if the stack grows top-down, the stack pointer is incremented.


How stack pointer registers are involved in the execution of push and pop instruction?

If the stack is empty assume the stack pointer has a value of P. when you push something on the stack you increment P. when you pull something from stack you decrement P.


What function for stack pointer of the register?

A stack pointer is a register pointing to the top of a stack. It supports the fundamental stack manipulations (push and pop) in an efficient manner. Most micro processor hardware has build-in hardware support for stack pointers, typically both in form of dedicated stack pointer registers and in form of addressing modes which support the creation and maintenance of stacks through general-purpose pointer registers. In software, many programming languages feature constructs suited for implementation of stack pointers within the high-level language (such as post-increment and pre-decrement operators in C).


What is the difference between stack pointer and program counter?

The stack pointer keeps track of the top of the stack used by the current thread. The program counter keeps track of the next instruction in a program. Both are registers and both store a memory address.