Heapmuistin

Heapmuistin, also known as dynamic memory, is a region of a computer's memory used for allocation and deallocation of memory blocks at runtime. It is managed by the operating system and is distinct from the stack, which is used for static memory allocation. Heap memory is typically used for data structures that need to persist beyond the scope of a single function call, such as linked lists, trees, and graphs.

The heap is managed using a data structure called a heap manager, which keeps track of which parts of the heap are free and which are allocated. When a program requests memory, the heap manager searches for a sufficiently large free block and marks it as allocated. When the program is done with the memory, it can free it, allowing the heap manager to reuse that block for future allocations.

Heap memory management can be complex and error-prone, as it requires careful tracking of memory usage to avoid issues such as memory leaks, where allocated memory is not freed, and dangling pointers, where a pointer references memory that has been freed. Modern programming languages and libraries provide tools and techniques to help manage heap memory more safely, such as garbage collection and smart pointers.