What is the difference between call stack and task queue?

In JavaScript, the call stack and the task queue are two important concepts that are closely related to the event loop.

The call stack is a data structure that keeps track of the execution of the code. It is a last-in, first-out (LIFO) data structure that stores the execution context of the code, which includes the function that is currently being executed and its local variables. When a function is called, its execution context is pushed onto the top of the call stack. When the function returns, its execution context is popped off the top of the call stack.

The task queue, on the other hand, is a list of tasks, or messages, that are waiting to be processed. These tasks are associated with callback functions that will be executed when the task is processed. The task queue receives messages from different sources such as web APIs, setTimeout, setInterval, Promises, and others. When a message is added to the task queue, it will be processed by the event loop as soon as the call stack is empty.

The event loop monitors the call stack and the task queue. As long as the call stack is not empty, the event loop will not process any messages from the task queue. However, as soon as the call stack is empty, the event loop will start processing the messages in the task queue, one by one, and push the corresponding callback functions to the call stack.

In summary, the call stack and the task queue are two important concepts in JavaScript that are closely related to the event loop. The call stack is a data structure that keeps track of the execution of the code, it is a LIFO data structure that stores the execution context of the code. The task queue is a list of tasks or messages that are waiting to be processed, it receives messages from different sources and when a message is added to the task queue, it will be processed by the event loop as soon as the call stack is empty. The event loop monitors the call stack and the task queue and it process the messages in the task queue by pushing the corresponding callback functions to the call stack.

Continue Reading