Mälulõigu

Mälulõigu, often translated as memory segment, is a concept used in computer science, particularly in operating systems and memory management. It refers to a contiguous block of computer memory that is allocated for a specific purpose. These segments are not necessarily physical blocks of memory but rather logical divisions that the operating system manages.

The purpose of memory segmentation is to provide a structured way of organizing and accessing memory. Each segment can have different access permissions, such as read-only, read-write, or execute-only, enhancing security and preventing unintended modifications of program data or code. This also allows for more efficient memory utilization by allocating only the necessary space for each segment.

In early operating systems and some modern architectures, segmentation was a primary method of memory management. Programs were divided into logical segments like code segments, data segments, and stack segments. The CPU's memory management unit (MMU) would then translate the logical addresses within these segments to physical memory addresses. While modern systems often rely more heavily on paging, segmentation still plays a role in some architectures and for specific memory management tasks. The concept allows for distinct areas of memory to be treated independently, which can simplify program design and improve system stability by isolating different parts of a program or different processes from each other.