Q10Computer Architecture
Question
Q.10. Define segmentation.
Answer
Segmentation is a memory management technique that divides a program's logical address space into variable-sized, logically meaningful segments (e.g., code, data, stack), each mapped independently to physical memory.
Segmentation is a memory management scheme in which a program's address space is divided into a number of variable-length segments, each corresponding to a logical unit such as the code segment, data segment, or stack segment, rather than fixed-size blocks. Each segment is referenced by a segment number and an offset within that segment, and the system maintains a segment table (with base address and limit/length for each segment) to translate this logical address into a physical memory address, allowing more natural, modular program organization and independent protection/sharing of segments compared to paging.