Computer Science / Unit 7 CS 0383 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Bytecode and the Virtual Machine
Captions available
The idea
A compiler's back end can generate machine-independent code — bytecode, instructions for a virtual machine — so one compiled program runs wherever that virtual machine has been built.
In practice
Java's compiler emits bytecode, and the program travels wherever a JVM already lives.
Where people slip
The portability moved from the program to the machine's availability.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Computer Science