5.6 Method-Call Stack and Activation Records
To understand how Java performs method calls, we first need to consider a data structure (i.e., collection of related data items) known as a stack. Think of a stack as analogous to a pile of dishes. When a dish is placed on the pile, it’s placed at the top—referred to as pushing the dish onto the stack. Similarly, when a dish is removed from the pile, it’s removed from the top—referred to as popping the dish off the stack. Stacks are known as last-in, first-out (LIFO) data structures—the last item pushed (inserted) on the stack is the first item popped (removed) from the stack.
5.6.1 Method-Call Stack
One of the most important mechanisms for computer science students to understand is the method-call ...
Get Java How To Program, Late Objects, 11th Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
