memory allocation of value types and reference types in .net framework

Question

Is there an advanced article which I can read that can explain how memory is allocated for different types (value and reference) in .net framework.

for example we know that value types are allocated space on a stack, but how is that managed?

Also how are reference types managed in a heap and where are the actual values stored. (Reference type like any Class will contain many value types, where are they saved and how are they managed)

Answer 1

It's more complicated than you might think. Even your claim that "value types are allocated on the stack" isn't correct. For example:

class Foo
{
    int x;
}

int is a value type, but the value for x will always be on the heap because it will be stored with the rest of the data for the instance of Foo which is a class.

Additionally, captured variables for anonymous functions and iterator blocks make life trickier.

I have an article about C# heap/stack memory you may find useful, but you might also want to read Eric Lippert's blog post on "The stack is an implementation detail". In particular, a future C# compiler could decide to store all of its local variables on the heap, using the stack just to hold a reference to an instance created at the start of the method... that wouldn't defy the C# spec at all.