Java bytecode: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:42, 23 September 2006

Revision as of 23:11, 28 September 2006

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A [[Java programming language|Java]] programmer does not need to be aware of or understand Java bytecode at all. However, as suggested in the [[IBM]] developerWorks journal, "Understanding bytecode and what bytecode is likely to be generated by a Java compiler helps the Java programmer in the same way that knowledge of assembler helps the [[C programming language|C]] or [[C++]] programmer."[http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/ibm/library/it-haggar_bytecode/]

It is possible to write Java bytecode inby hand, however this method is never used in real life because nowadays the [[compiler]]s are able to compile well performing code and no person is able to comprehend a piece of Java bytecode of considerable size. Originally only one compiler existed, the [[javac]] compiler from Sun Microsystems, which compiles [[Java source code]] to Java bytecode. But because all the specifications for Java bytecode are available other parties have supplied compilers that produce Java bytecode. E.g.:

* [[Jython]], an interpreter for [[Python programming language|Python]], written in Java

* [[JRuby]], compiles from [[Ruby programming language|Ruby]] to Java bytecode