Question

I am looking at someones code comments and in a function mapping shared memory with another process it mentios grabbing a pointer and “overlaying” the shared memory.

Is that a made up word or concept or is it something very specific. I can’t seem to make sense of it looking at the code either.

Thank You.

Answer 1

There’s nothing specific about it, nor is it a made up word. It means simply that the code overwrites the shared memory. Wikipedia entry. The Wiki entry goes on in detail about overlay programming techniques, which is a specific meaning, but the first sentence describes the general meaning of the word. I’ve used it and heard it used many times.