Memory & Performance

Question 1

stack allocation

Answer 1

Memory allocated automatically for local variables;
very fast, lifetime tied to scope.

Question 2

heap allocation

Answer 2

Memory allocated dynamically (new/malloc);
slower, requires manual/free or smart pointers.

Question 3

memory pool

Answer 3

Pre-allocated block of memory for fast allocation/deallocation

Question 4

memory leak

Answer 4

Memory allocated but never freed

Question 5

Dangling Pointer

Answer 5

Pointer to freed memory;
unsafe, causes undefined behavior.

Question 6

RAII
(Resource Acquisition Is Initialization)

Answer 6

Manage resources via object lifetime;
ensures cleanup.

Question 7

Copy vs Move

Answer 7

Avoid unnecessary deep copies; use move semantics to transfer ownership efficiently.

Question 7

Smart Pointers
(unique_ptr, shared_ptr, weak_ptr)

Answer 7

manage heap memory safely and prevent leaks.

Question 8

Cache Locality

Answer 8

Accessing contiguous memory improves CPU cache usage;
vector > deque > list.

Question 9

Spatial Locality

Answer 9

Accessing memory addresses near each other; improves cache hits

Question 10

Temporal Locality

Answer 10

Re-accessing recently used memory; improves cache reuse

Question 11

Contiguous Storage

Answer 11

Using structures like vector for sequential memory;
improves cache efficiency.

Question 12

Memory Contention

Answer 12

Multiple threads accessing shared memory;
can cause stalls.

Question 13

Time Complexity Awareness

Answer 13

O(1), O(log n), O(n) costs for data structures and operations.

Question 14

Hot / Cold Data Separation

Answer 14

Separate frequently accessed vs rarely accessed data to improve cache hits.