Java virtual machine
runtime environment that can execute Java bytecode as a result of compiling computer programs written in the Java programming language
A Java virtual machine (JVM) is a virtual machine that enables a computer to run Java programs as well as programs written in other languages, referred to as JVM languages, that are also compiled to Java bytecode. The JVM is detailed by a specification that formally describes what is required in a JVM implementation. Having a specification ensures interoperability of Java programs across different implementations so that program authors using the Java Development Kit (JDK) need not worry about idiosyncrasies of the underlying hardware platform.
The JVM reference implementation is developed by the OpenJDK project as open source code and includes a JIT compiler called HotSpot. The commercially supported Java releases available from Oracle are based on the OpenJDK runtime. Eclipse OpenJ9 is another open source JVM for OpenJDK.
JVM specification
The Java virtual machine is an abstract (virtual) computer defined by a specification. It is a part of the Java Runtime Environment. The garbage collection algorithm used and any internal optimization of the Java virtual machine instructions (their translation into machine code) are not specified. The main reason for this omission is to not unnecessarily constrain implementers. Any Java application can be run only inside some concrete implementation of the abstract specification of the Java virtual machine.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Java virtual machine” is runtime environment that can execute Java bytecode as a result of compiling computer programs written in the Java programming language. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Java, virtual and machine, not as a finished interpretation.
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This entry incorporates text from “Java virtual machine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.