A '''Java class file''' is a [[Computer file|file]] (with the <tt>.class</tt> [[filename extension]]) containing a [[Java bytecode]] whichthat can be executed on the [[Java Virtual Machine|Java Virtual Machine (JVM)]]. A Java class file is produced by a [[Java compiler]] from [[Java (programming language)|Java programming language]] [[source file]]s (<tt>.java</tt> files) containing Java [[Class (programming)|classes]]. If a source file has more than one class, each class is compiled into a separate class file.
JVMs are available for many [[platform (computing)|platform]]s, and thea class file compiled inon one platform will execute inon a JVM of another platform. This makes Java [[cross-platform|platform-independent]].
