Java programmers at every level will find this easy-to-understand yet technically rich description of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM)―the engine of the Java language―an invaluable tool in writing better and more efficient Java code. Lively text and entertaining Java applets on the included CD-ROM demystify the elusive JVM and explain all aspects of the JVM architecture, facilities and operation―from Java stacks, class files, bytecodes, conversions and verification to the just-in-time compiler implementation of JVM. Complete reference information is also provided for the JVM class file format and all JVM bytecodes.
For the advanced Java developer,
Inside the Java 2 Virtual Machine offers a detailed guide to the inner workings of today's Java Virtual Machines (JVMs), plus a complete reference to all bytecodes (the "machine code" for the language). For those who want to understand how Java really works, this book definitely delivers the goods, with excellent technical detail and demos of JVMs in action on the included CD-ROM.
This title provides a remarkably detailed tour of the internals of the Java platform, with plenty of technical information on the way virtual machines do business under the hood, from the way language statements are turned into bytecodes, to in-depth coverage of loading and invoking classes, security and garbage collection. The author demonstrates superior knowledge of Sun's Java Virtual Machine specification and explains the principles of its design and implementation, including a full explanation of how actual bytecodes are run on a VM. (Surprisingly, variables in Java are always processed on the stack, as there are no general CPU registers available, a very different architecture than most CPUs.) Each chapter includes applets that show off Java in action (for example, adding two numbers or showing off garbage collection).
The later part of this text covers over 200 Java bytecodes (mnemonic instructions for the JVM) by groups, and the book closes with a full listing of these opcodes (with over 150 pages of material). In all, Inside the Java 2 Virtual Machine serves as both a tutorial and reference to the architecture and inner operation of JVMs for any technically astute reader who wants to understand how Java really works. --Richard Dragan, Amazon.com
Topics covered: Java Virtual Machine (JVM) class architecture, the Java class loader, tips for platform independence, Java security, verifying class files, code-signing, network mobility, Jini basics, the organisation of Java .class files, Java object lifetimes, the linking model, garbage collection basics and algorithms, stack operations, type conversions, integer and floating-point arithmetic, objects and arrays, control flow, exceptions and finally clauses, method invocation, thread synchronisation, Java opcode and quickcode reference and JVM simulation demos.
