Overlay (programming)

Not to be confused with Overload (programming), Exec (system call), Overlapping code, or Shared code.

Schematic

In a general computing sense, overlaying means "the process of transferring a block of program code or other data into main memory, replacing what is already stored".[1] Overlaying is a programming method that allows programs to be larger than the computer's main memory.[2] An embedded system would normally use overlays because of the limitation of physical memory, which is internal memory for a system-on-chip, and the lack of virtual memory facilities.

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Butterfield_1986 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).