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Question

Why are data structures usually aligned to the processor's native word-size boundaries?

a.

To save memory

b.

To improve performance

c.

To make the data structure easier to read

d.

None of the above

Posted under Reverse Engineering

Answer: (b).To improve performance Explanation:Unaligned memory accesses incur a major performance penalty, so data structures are usually aligned to the processor's native word-size boundaries.

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Q. Why are data structures usually aligned to the processor's native word-size boundaries?

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