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What does "heap" mean in programming?
heap is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
A region of memory used for dynamic allocation. Unlike the stack, objects on the heap persist until they are explicitly freed (or garbage collected). Large objects and those with unknown lifetimes are stored on the heap.
Example
"Large objects allocated at runtime live on the heap, not the stack."
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