language, architecture (JVM) A specification for software which interprets
Java programs that have been compiled into byte-codes, and usually stored in a ".class" file. The JVM
instruction set is
stack-oriented, with variable instruction length. Unlike some other instruction sets, the JVM's supports
object-oriented programming directly by including instructions for object
method invocation (similar to
subroutine call in other instruction sets).
The JVM itself is written in
C and so can be
ported to run on most
platforms. It needs
thread support and
I/O (for dynamic class loading). The Java byte-code is independent of the platform.
There are also some hardware implementations of the JVM.
Specification (https://javasoft.com/docs/books/vmspec/html/VMSpecTOC.doc.html).
Sun's Java chip (https://news.com/News/Item/0,4,9328,00.html).
[Documentation? Versions?]
(2000-01-03)