Oproepframes

Oproepframes, also known as call frames or stack frames, are data structures that represent an invocation of a subroutine in a program. Each time a function is called, the runtime allocates an oproepframe on the call stack to preserve the execution context of the caller and to provide storage for the callee. The frame typically contains: the return address (where to resume after the function returns), the function parameters that are passed on the stack (in some ABIs), local variables and compiler-generated temporaries, and saved registers that must be restored when the function returns. A frame pointer may be maintained to provide a stable reference point within the frame, while the stack pointer marks the current top of the stack.

During function entry, a prologue adjusts the stack pointer to allocate space for locals and spills, and may save callee-saved registers and set up the frame pointer. On exit, an epilogue restores saved registers, deallocates the frame, and transfers control to the return address. The collection of all such frames forms the call stack, which enables nested function calls and backtracing for debugging and exception handling. Debuggers and profilers rely on unwind information to walk from one frame to the previous one, even when optimizations are enabled.

Different architectures and languages adopt different calling conventions and frame layouts. Some use a frame pointer for easier access to locals, others use a so-called frame-less or register-based approach. Tail calls may eliminate the current frame, optimizing the call stack. Understanding oproepframes is central to debugging, performance analysis, and low-level runtime design.