Path: utzoo!mnetor!lazer
From: lazer@mnetor.UUCP (Lazer Danzinger)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: What goes on stack?
Message-ID: <4757@mnetor.UUCP>
Date: 21 Oct 88 15:19:25 GMT
References: <3221@sdsu.UUCP>
Reply-To: lazer@mnetor.UUCP (Lazer Danzinger)
Organization: Motorola Computer X
Lines: 45

In article <3221@sdsu.UUCP> roetzhei@sdsu.UCSD.EDU (William Roetzheim) writes:
>
>  Help!  I'm working with Turbo C version 1.5.  My program is large (about
>30,000 lines) and deals with large arrays (static and dynamic) and many
>string literals in the code.  The stack size required is huge.  Anything
>less than about 55K for a stacksize causes a stack overflow on program
>execution.  
>
>  Other than return addresses, register values, and paramaters, what else
>does Turbo C put on the stack?  What the heck would cause it to grow so 
>big?  
>

    As far as I know, it is not at all uncommon (perhaps, even standard
    practice) for all dynamic variables, including "large (dynamic) arrays" 
    to be allocated from stack space. This is very likely your problem.

    Depending on the particulars, the following may be possible solutions:

    1. Allocate memory for dynamic variables (your large arrays) at
       run-time, using a routine like malloc. Then free the storage
       at the end of the module. 

    2. (This is a little ugly: ) If speed is not too much of an issue,
       try using disk storage instead of memory.

    3. Check your Turbo manual to find out if there is a way of specifying
       a larger stack size.

    4. Although string literals do not come off the stack,
       if you are using the same literals more than once, it is a good
       practice to strcpy them into externs. This, besides conserving
       sometimes oodles of space, also makes program modification
       a lot easier.


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