Preface This document provides information about the features supported by Java Virtual Machine technology.

It is essential for compiler writers who wish to target a Java Virtual Machine and for programmers who want to implement a compatible Java Vir- tual Machine. It is also a definitive source for anyone who …

The Java virtual machine requires support of gradual underflow as defined by IEEE 754. Despite the fact that overflow, underflow, or loss of precision may occur, execution of an fadd instruction never …

The JVM is a stack machine All operations operate on the top few elements of the stack This is what allows for such short bytecodes Eg. An integer division operation in a 32 register RISC machine …

Java Bytecode Low-level compiled form of Java Platform-independent Compact Suitable for mobile code, applets Easy to interpret Java virtual machine (JVM) in your browser

A class file contains JVM instructions (or bytecodes) and a symbol table, and some other information. When a JVM reads and executes these instructions, the effect is what the original Java program …

In the Second Edition of The Java® Virtual Machine Specification, Chapter 2 gave an overview of the Java programming language that was intended to support the specification of the Java Virtual …