Peeking Inside the Java Virtual Machine

I would like to introduce you to a remarkable piece of technology that helped revolutionize the software industry. Meet the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Okay, so you are likely already familiar with the JVM, and it is important to understand and appreciate the tremendous value it has as the middleware between compiled Java bytecode and a virtually limitless number of hardware platforms. The ingenious design of Java and the JVM is a testament to its wild popularity and value to users and developers.

Since the first release of Java in the 1990s, the JVM has been the true success factor for the Java programming language. With Java and the JVM, the concept of “write once, run anywhere” was born. Java developers can write their programs once and allow the JVM to ensure the code runs on devices the JVM is installed on. The JVM also makes Java a platform-independent language. The primary objective of this chapter is to provide greater...