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In terms of memory allocation, the main difference between a static array and a dynamic array lies in how the memory is allocated and managed.
A static array, also known as a fixed-size array, is declared with a fixed size at compile-time. The memory for a static array is allocated on the stack, and the size of the array remains constant throughout the program execution. The memory for a static array is allocated and deallocated automatically by the compiler. Once the size of a static array is determined, it cannot be changed during runtime.
On the other hand, a dynamic array, also known as a resizable array or a dynamically allocated array, is created at runtime and its size can be changed during program execution. The memory for a dynamic array is allocated on the heap using functions like malloc() or new in languages like C or C++. The programmer is responsible for explicitly allocating and deallocating memory for a dynamic array. This allows for flexibility in resizing the array as needed.
In summary, the key difference between a static array and a dynamic array in terms of memory allocation is that a static array has a fixed size determined at compile-time and the memory is automatically managed by the compiler, while a dynamic array has a size that can be changed during runtime and the memory is manually allocated and deallocated by the programmer.