Why do i need a SWAP partition for linux?

[Windows7er]

Hello friends. I am hardcore windows user, and i amd planning to try Ubuntu linux. But i'm afraid of trying any linux because i don't know how to partition and what partitions are needed and which are optional. Can anyone explain me Why do i need a SWAP partition for linux? Why do i need a /home partition etc. I don't know what is necessary and what is not. Please help...

[Rudra.J]

Swap Partitions are not always necessary. Swap partitions are necessary for the computers which have less physical memory. A Swap parition acts like a temporary storage which is used when all the physical memory is in use and no space for further data and programs execution. A computer with higher physical memory does not always require a swap partition as in that case the swap partition may never be used and the space would be wasted.

[Solomon]

The concept of swap is same as the concept of Paging in Windows, just the name is different and the technique, but both are achieved with similar logic. In windows : Paging is an important part of virtual memory implementation in most contemporary general-purpose operating systems, allowing them to use disk storage for data that does not fit into physical memory which is RAM. Paging is usually implemented as architecture-specific code built into the kernel of the operating system.

[SalVatore]

Basically, It is better if you use Swap partition, because it may not be needed all the time, but it would be helpful when the machine is consuming too much memory and a lot of process is in execution. At this time if the computer is continuously used, the physical memory is likely to be filled and in such situation the swap partition can be used which will eventually help your computer from freezing. The swap partition can be used as much as you want but the recommendation says that the SWAP partition should be 1.5 or two times of the Physical Memory [RAM]. Hope this is useful...