How Does Go Manage Address Space and Goroutine Stacks?

What is the Address Space in Go(lang)?

As you navigate the depths of concurrent programming in Go, you may stumble upon the enigmatic term "address space." To unravel its meaning, let's delve into the concept.

Understanding Address Space

"Address space" is a broad term that encompasses a range of contexts. Generally, it refers to a system that uniquely identifies memory locations using a combination of identifiers.

Go's Address Space and Goroutines

In the context of Go, the "address space" pertains to the shared memory space of multiple goroutines within the same process. Goroutines, which are lightweight threads of execution, possess access to the same memory addresses, enabling them to interact seamlessly.

Implications for Stack Management

Traditional address space models allocate memory in two primary areas: the heap, which expands upwards, and the stack, which expands downwards. To prevent collisions and memory overwriting, an unwritable memory region is often placed between the heap and stack.

However, this model can limit heap size when numerous threads are introduced into a process. Go addresses this issue by checking for sufficient stack space before each function call. If necessary, the runtime environment can allocate additional stack space.

Go's Unique Approach

Go 1.3 introduced a novel method of stack management. Instead of manipulating stack segments, if a goroutine's stack becomes insufficient, a larger stack is allocated. The previous stack's contents are copied to the new stack, allowing the goroutine to continue execution. This approach enables goroutines to be treated as less resource-intensive.

The above is the detailed content of How Does Go Manage Address Space and Goroutine Stacks?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!