Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!iuvax!purdue!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!ain
From: ain@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Pat-bob White)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: stack
Message-ID: <3634@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 11 Aug 89 18:32:45 GMT
References: <16943@ut-emx.UUCP>
Reply-To: ain@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Pat-bob White)
Organization: PUCC Land, USA
Lines: 25

In article <16943@ut-emx.UUCP> sjk@ut-emx.UUCP (sjk) writes:
>I have written a couple of programs which seem to require large
>stacks in which to run, so I have two questions:
>1)  How can I tell just how large a stack a given program will
>    need? Or is it all just trial and error?

   I asked this of the authors of Manx & Lattice C at an Amiexpo two years ago
and got a response pretty much like "you just have to guess".
   Seems to me that one could pretty easily ask where the stack is at the
beginning of a function call.. but then one must select input to drive the
program to use the maximum amount of stack.

>2)  What do I lose by always runnig with a larger stack so I don't
>    run my programs, forgetting to change the stack, and wind up
>    visiting meditation heaven?

   A separate stack is allocated for every program while it runs -- if you
run them with more stack then they need, you have less memory to use while
they are running.

hope this helps,
Pat White
ARPA/UUCP: j.cc.purdue.edu!ain  BITNET: PATWHITE@PURCCVM  PHONE: (317) 743-8421
U.S.  Mail:  320 Brown St. apt. 406,    West Lafayette, IN 47906
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