0x270. Memory Segmentation

A compiled program's memory is divided into five segments: text, data, bss, heap, and stack. Each segment represents a special portion of memory that is set aside for a certain purpose.

The text segment is also sometimes called the code segment. This is where the assembled machine language instructions of the program are located. The execution of instructions in this segment is nonlinear, thanks to the aforementioned high-level control structures and functions, which compile into branch, jump, and call instructions in assembly language. As a program executes, the EIP is set to the first instruction in the text segment. The processor then follows an execution loop that does the following: