Dynamic variable
programming variable in which memory is allocated at runtime
In computer programming, a dynamic variable is a local variable that is created to reside in manually allocated memory that can be allocated and deallocated. It is divided into three types, namely implicit heap dynamic variable, explicit heap dynamic variable and lost heap dynamic variable (dangling pointers). It has indefinite scope and dynamic extent. It is mostly used in niche programming languages which include Lisp, Ruby, APL, PHP, TcL, TEX and PERL.
Types of dynamic variables
Implicit heap dynamic variable – Dynamic variables where the values are bound to heap storage on assignment, and allocation with release occurs when new value is assigned e.g. all variables in JavaScript, PHP and APL. It is more flexible than the explicit heap dynamic variable as a larger memory can be allocated when the required memory size is unknown.
Explicit heap dynamic variable – Dynamic variables that are allocated and deallocated by explicit run–time instructions as specified by the programmer. Few examples are dynamic objects in C++ and objects in Java.
Lost heap dynamic variable – Dynamic variables which are no longer referenced by the pointer. When the heap dynamic variable is lost, the process is called memory leak. It is created by a first pointer pointing to a new heap dynamic variable and then the pointer is shifted to another heap dynamic variable.
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