Stack overflow is what happens when you try to push an item onto a full stack, and the stack does not detect the stack-full condition (or handles it catastrophically, with a page fault or similar processor exception, or by clobbering other data). This is ''bad''.  In a security context, a StackOverflow is a case of BufferOverflow that occurs on the stack, as opposed to the heap. StackSmashing is when crackers purposely try to overflow a stack to overwrite data in and beyond the current stack frame. Usually, they will overwrite the return address at the end of the frame, and then place ShellCode beyond that address in hopes of executing arbitrary code. This is ''really bad''.

Can refer to any data structure (of bounded size) used to represent a stack.  Often, the stack being referred to is... TheStack.

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See
HeapOverflow

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I tend to browse through this Wiki, jumping from interesting link to interesting link, until I hit StackOverflow in my head. Then I close my browser.

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StackOverflow is also the name of a programmers' QuestionAndAnswerWebsite developed by JeffAtwood and JoelSpolsky. http://stackoverflow.com/

StackOverflow is not a programmer's website, it's a game where you compete to post the BestAnswer. The BestAnswer is the one that results in the most IP for Stack Exchange Inc. Users are discouraged from posting links and RTFM answers in preference to paraphrasing massive quantities of documentation. The SO community is very anal about the rules of their game and love to demonstrate their knowledge of these rules at every opportunity. The site is written by DotNet programmers.

Nowadays (end of 2014) when you google a specific programming question you will get at least one result from StackOverflow within the top 10 search results, often it is the top answer.  - ErikPischel

StackOverflow is part of the StackExchange family of QuestionAndAnswerWebsite 
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CategoryInternet