Stack overflow is a programming error where data cannot be written to a memory block due to insufficient space. Symptoms vary by language, but debugging can identify the source. Explicit memory management languages are easier to safeguard, but implicit management languages can still experience overflow. Garbage collectors are not always reliable, and overflows can be catastrophic or nearly silent. The longer a program runs after an overflow, the harder it is to find and fix.
Stack overflow is a programming error in which an attempt to write data to a particular block of memory fails because there is no space left in the block. This type of error occurs in the same way as buffer overflows, heap overflows, and stack buffer overflows. The difference between these types of errors depends on the data structure of the computer being used, and the common characteristic is that there is an attempt to write more data than the space available to hold it.
Symptoms of a stack overflow can vary depending on the computer language used and the error reporting mechanism available. In C++, a stack overflow often manifests itself as a segmentation fault, and additional information is often not provided to determine where or how the overflow occurred. An overflow in Java often results in a virtual machine crash that outputs a reasonably verbose error file. Regardless of the language in which an overflow occurs, the overflow can almost always be fixed by proper debugging and identifying the source of the original overflow.
Computer languages that offer explicit memory management are often easier to safeguard against stack overflow. Widely accepted programming practice usually dictates that for every memory segment a program allocates, the program should also erase itself. C++ allows for this mechanism, and carefully monitoring this way can minimize the amount of memory a program uses. Languages that do not offer explicit memory management and instead use implicit memory management are more difficult to protect against stack overflow errors. Java manages its own memory inside its virtual machine, so data can’t be explicitly deleted at will to make room for something else.
A common mistake of novice programmers is to assume that a stack overflow can’t happen in computer languages that have their own memory management. Even if it seems plausible at first sight, in reality it is not. Languages with implicit memory management often have garbage collectors that free up unnecessary blocks of memory, but these garbage collectors don’t always work at the time a programmer intended. Relying on garbage collectors is relatively dangerous and can’t always protect a program from an overflow error.
Overflow errors can be catastrophic and shut down an entire program, or they can be nearly silent and allow a program to continue. These second types of errors are often the hardest to find because an error could occur that came from an overflow many lines of code before. A stack overflow doesn’t often require searching through an entire program, but the longer a program can run after an overflow, the more difficult the error can be to find and fix.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
