Why must the call stack be empty for setTimeout callbacks to run?

The answer

Because the event loop only moves callbacks from the queue onto the stack when the stack is empty. If a synchronous function is still running, queued callbacks wait.

More FAQs in What Is the Call Stack in JavaScript?

The Call Stack follows the Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) principle.

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It tracks function execution and execution contexts.

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Yes. Excessive recursion can lead to a stack overflow error.

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