Talk:Bytecode: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:02, 29 November 2022

Revision as of 18:08, 29 November 2022

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:: From a computer scientists point of view, there is no difference between a virtual or a real machine and their instruction sets are clearly equally powerful (given that both are Turing complete). My point is not what is being done, but the technical difference between the two terms, being that there is none. Being designed to be run on-top of another, unknown, machine is hardly a good criterion for distinction. [[User:FrederikHertzum|FrederikHertzum]] ([[User talk:FrederikHertzum|talk]]) 03:41, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

::::'''Keep Separate''' — Well, the difference is that a "virtual machine" needs a ''real'' machine... Also, all computer related articles cannot have an abstract computer "science" point of view; although basic principles are indeed important to ''clarify'', real world usage, practical aspects, and ''conventions'' are equally (or more) important in most articles on computing, electronics and science. [[Special:Contributions/83.255.42.68|83.255.42.68]] ([[User talk:83.255.42.68|talk]]) 08:03, 26 July 2010 (UTC)

:::::I'm not sure if this was correct from a computer science perspective. A 'virtual machine' (back in the 1970s or so, when I first got interested in compiler language) was non-existing hardware. The MIX 'computer' used by Donald Knuth to teach and discuss certain aspects of computing aspect was very much a virtual machine. Today a 'virtual machine' is what then would probably have been called an 'emulated machine'. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_machine for several uses of 'virtual machine' used for stack-oriented designs. The link from that article to 'virtual machine' however, is somewhat misleading, as it is not until the term 'Process virtual machines' that the intended meaning is beginning to emerge. (That term is almost certainly a modern term.) [[User:Athulin|Athulin]] ([[User talk:Athulin|talk]]) 17:59, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

::'''Keep Separate''' — But this article needs to be refined and its category has to be determined. Is it related to virtual machines, interpreters, or process virtual machines? The page on VMs has to explain the type of code --[[User:Melab-1|Melab±1]] [[User_talk:Melab-1|☎]] 22:45, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

:::'''Keep Separate''' The term '''Bytecode''' has been in use ever since its [[canonical]] example (or maybe even earlier) of a byte-code in the form of the [[p-code machine|p-code]] used by [[UCSD Pascal]], which was one of the [[IBM_PC#OS_support|contenders]] for an operating system for the upcoming [[IBM PC]]. So at the very least the term has historical significance. [[User:Mahjongg|Mahjongg]] ([[User talk:Mahjongg|talk]]) 17:52, 21 June 2010 (UTC)