Question

ESP always points to the _____ when your program first began.

a) beginning of the stack
b) next, empty, location above the stack
c) next, empty, location below the stack
d) last value to be added to, or pushed on, the top of the stack

Answer 1

ESP always points to the last value to be added to the top of the stack when a program starts.

Step-by-step explanation:

ESP always points to the last value to be added to, or pushed on, the top of the stack when your program first began. This means that when a program starts, the ESP (Extended Stack Pointer) register in the CPU will hold the memory address of the most recently pushed value in the stack.

The stack is a data structure that stores values in a last-in, first-out (LIFO) manner. The value pushed onto the stack last will be at the top, and all other values will be below it. Therefore, the ESP register will point to the address of the last value added, which is at the top of the stack.

By examining the ESP register, a program can easily access the most recent data stored on the stack.