Stack pointer
A stack pointer is a processor register or equivalent value that identifies the current top position of a stack in memory.
Rust in Action: Systems programming concepts and techniques
A stack pointer is a CPU-maintained pointer to the current location or top of a call stack.
- How it is used
- Tracks active function calls and enables returns in a CPU emulator.
- How deep it goes
- Explains stack-frame behavior and works through an indexed stack pointer in CALL and RETURN methods.
- Examples
- Uses Rust CPU fields and call() and ret() methods with a 16-slot address stack.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch in a small CPU emulator to save return addresses and resume callers.
Read how Rust in Action: Systems programming concepts and techniques explains stack pointer →
Modern C
A stack pointer is a processor register that identifies the current top of a call's stack storage area.
- How it is used
- Explains how a function reserves storage for automatic variables in a machine model of program execution.
- How deep it goes
- Traces register-level setup and storage allocation, but does not develop broader calling conventions.
- Examples
- Uses fgoto assembler listings showing %rsp adjustment and local-object initialization.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate how assembly instructions establish a function's local storage area.
Modern C, Third Edition
A stack pointer is a processor register that identifies the current top of a function-call stack area.
- How it is used
- Explains how a function-call stack area is reserved and used when execution enters a function.
- How deep it goes
- Traces register roles and three setup instructions, but stops short of a general stack implementation.
- Examples
- Uses the fgoto function and annotated optimized and unoptimized assembler listings to show stack-pointer setup.
- What you can do after
- Understand how an assembler function reserves stack space and locates its local objects during entry.
Classic Game Programming on the NES: Make your own retro video game
A stack pointer is a processor state value identifying the current top position of the processor stack.
- How it is used
- Initializes the processor stack as part of NES hardware startup.
- How deep it goes
- Explains the S-register setup and the decreasing offset caused by stack pushes, without detailing stack operations themselves.
- Examples
- Uses cld, ldx #$FF, and txs as the concrete initialization sequence.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure it by loading $FF into X and transferring X to S during NES startup.
Related concepts
- stack overflowuses · A stack overflow is a runtime failure caused by exhausting the available capacity of a program’s call stack.
- stack framemeasures · A stack frame is a runtime record that holds the local context and execution state for one active function or method invocation.
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