java virtual machine

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
Java Virtual Machine
Java VM
JVM

   <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
   (http://javasoft.com/docs/books/vmspec/html/VMSpecTOC.doc.html).

   Sun's Java chip
   (http://news.com/News/Item/0,4,9328,00.html).

   [Documentation?  Versions?]

   (2000-01-03)