Overview
The Evolution of Memory Management traces how operating systems transitioned from simple contiguous physical memory allocation to flexible hardware-assisted virtual memory paradigms, solving issues of memory fragmentation, access protection, and dynamic process sizing.
Translation Paradigm Comparison
| Paradigm | Allocation Unit | Hardware Registers | Primary Fragmentation Issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base & Bound | Single contiguous chunk per process | Base Register, Bound Register | External Fragmentation |
| Segmentation | Variable-sized logical segments (Code, Data, Stack) | Segment Table (Base + Bound per segment) | External Fragmentation |
| Paging | Fixed-size pages / frames (e.g., 4 KB) | Page Table Base Register (PTBR) | Internal Fragmentation (last page only) |