Stack frame

As explained in .NET in Action, Second Edition

A stack frame is the portion of a call stack containing a function invocation's local data, arguments, and return information.

A stack frame holds the data needed for one function invocation: its local variables, arguments, and return information. Calls add frames to the call stack; returns remove them so execution can resume in the caller. This is a useful model for reading stack traces and profiles, not a specification of every runtime’s memory layout. section 10.3 section 10.3.4

Reading a call stack

If CheckJokes calls a Newtonsoft test method, which calls DeserializeObject, DeserializeObject is the top frame while it runs. A CPU profiler can match sampled frames to symbols such as assembly, class, and method names, connecting processor use to the active call chain. section 10.3

Frames also help explain two practical limits and tools:

• Each recursive invocation needs another frame. Enough recursive calls can exceed the stack’s maximum size and cause a stack overflow. section 10.3.4
• In PerfView, a filter removes a matching frame and the work below it; a fold skips the frame while retaining work below it; a group combines linked matching frames. These operations reduce noise when inspecting a profile. section 10.3.3
• Keep stack storage distinct from heap allocation. In the C/C++ comparison, a fixed-size local array uses stack space, while a dynamically allocated array uses the heap; the C# array example also allocates an array dynamically. section 10.3.4

A representation of the stack frames when the DeserializeObject method is executed

The diagram shows which invocation is on top when DeserializeObject executes and how its frame sits above its callers’ frames. section 10.3

How .NET in Action, Second Edition covers it

How deep it goes

Explains invocation data, call order, recursion, and profile operations through a simplified stack model, without specifying an exact runtime layout.

Examples

Traces nested method calls, compares stack and heap arrays, and applies PerfView filters, folds, and groups.

What it assumes

Assumes familiarity with method calls; introduces stack behavior through a call chain and a C/C++ memory comparison.

What you can do after

Diagnose/debug with PerfView by reading sampled call stacks and reducing irrelevant frames with filters, folds, and groups.

How it connects

Connects stack frames to call stacks, CPU profiling, recursion, stack overflow, heap allocation, and garbage collection.

liveBookmanning.com

Read .NET in Action, Second Edition on liveBook Get the book at manning.com

Also explained in

• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Rust in Action: Systems programming concepts and techniquesA stack frame is a per-function-call memory record containing call state, arguments, local variables, and return information.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  100 Go Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemA stack frame is the runtime record containing a function invocation's local state and associated execution information.

Compare how 3 books explain stack frame →

Related concepts

• execution context stackpart of · An execution context stack is a runtime last-in-first-out structure that records active function or method calls and their execution state and return information.
• stackpart of · A stack is a data structure that adds and removes elements at one end, following last-in, first-out order.
• setjmp/longjmpused by · The setjmp/longjmp mechanism is a C nonlocal-control-flow facility that saves an execution context and later restores it to transfer control across function-call boundaries.
• generatorused by · A generator is a language construct or computation that produces values incrementally on demand, typically suspending and resuming while preserving its state.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of .NET in Action, Second Edition. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.