Question

In the following code:

char *p = "Linux";

Is the memory for “Linux” on the stack or the read only segment of the program?

Refer to question 9 in the article 12 Interesting C Interview Questions and Answers.

Thanks.

Answer 1

The implementation is free to store it wherever it wants. It’s a constant, so it can be in read-only memory, but it is not required to be.

My instructor for C programming always says its on the stack, hence the doubt.

He probably means the pointer. Consider:

char *p = "Linux";
p = "Rules";

In the second line, something changed from pointing to “Linux” to pointing to “Rules”. That thing that just changed is on the stack.