stack overflow


stack overflow

(programming)An error condition which results from attemptingto push more items onto a stack than space has beenallocated for. Often, this will simply overwrite the adjacentmemory locations causing hard-to-trace bugs.

Stack overflow can result, for example, from an insufficientnumber of stack frames to handle hardware interrupts.

stack overflow

An error condition that occurs when there is no room in the stack for a new item. This error condition can also occur when other things go awry; for example, a bad expansion card or one that isn't seated properly in the slot can cause erratic signals eventually leading to a stack overflow error message. Contrast with stack underflow. See stack.