Discuss the application of a stack in the context of function calls and recursion. give the answrr for 5 marks

Function Calls: In the context of function calls, a stack is used to keep track of the point to which each active function should return control when it finishes executing. When a function is called, the computer must "remember" the location in the program of the instruction following the function call. This return address is stored on the stack, and control is transferred to the called function. When the function finishes, it pops the return address off the stack and transfers control to that address.

Recursion: Recursion in computer science is a method where the solution to a problem depends on solutions to smaller instances of the same problem. The stack is crucial in implementing recursion as it keeps track of the various states of the recursive function. Each recursive call pushes a new layer onto the stack, storing the current state and variables. When the base case is reached, the function begins to return, popping each layer off the stack and resuming at the previous state until the original function call is reached.

Stack Frames: Each function call creates a stack frame that contains the function's local variables, parameters, and return address. The stack allows functions to be reentrant, meaning a function can be interrupted in the middle of its execution, a different function can run, and then the original function can resume using the exact same context it had before it was interrupted.

Memory Management: The stack is also useful in