Description: Memory fragmentation is a condition in which memory is allocated and freed in such a way that it is divided into small non-contiguous blocks, making it difficult to allocate larger blocks. This phenomenon can occur in systems that use memory management techniques such as dynamic allocation. Fragmentation is classified into two types: internal fragmentation, which occurs when more memory than necessary is allocated to a process, leaving unused spaces within a memory block, and external fragmentation, which occurs when there is enough total memory available, but it is divided into non-contiguous blocks that cannot be used by a process requiring a larger contiguous block. Fragmentation can affect system performance, as it can lead to inefficient memory usage and, in extreme cases, the inability to allocate memory to new processes, even when sufficient total memory is available. To mitigate fragmentation, various memory management techniques are used, such as compaction, which reorganizes memory to create larger contiguous blocks, and allocation algorithms that attempt to minimize fragmentation from the outset.
