A data structure that stores information about the active functions in a program, tracking which function called which and where to return control when each function completes. It operates on a Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) principle.
Combines 'call' from Old Norse 'kalla' (to cry out) and 'stack' from Old Norse 'stakkr' (haystack). The computing term emerged in the 1950s when programmers needed to track function calls, likening it to a stack of plates where the last one added is the first removed.
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