Inside the Java Virtual Machine (Java Masters Series) - Softcover

Venners, Bill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0079132480 ISBN 13: 9780079132482

Publisher: Computing McGraw-Hill, 1998

Synopsis

Discusses the origin and purpose of the Java language, platform independence, security, network mobility, and related issues, and provides detailed information and advice for programmers

About this title

Review:

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 companion 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, since there are no general CPU registers available, a very different architecture than most CPUs.) Each chapter includes applets that showcase Java in action (for example, adding two numbers or demonstrating 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

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 organization 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 synchronization, Java opcode and quickcode reference, and JVM simulation demos.

From the Back Cover:

Want to write better Java programs? Look under the hood and see what makes the ingenious Java engine run! This easy-to-understand yet technically rich description of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM)--the engine of the Java language--is your key to writing more efficient and effective Java code. It provides a complete JVM tutorial and desktop programmer's reference that explains all aspects of the JVM architecture, facilities, and operation--everything you need to know about JVM to get the best possible performance from your Java applications. A combination of lively text and entertaining Java applets on CD-ROM demystify the elusive JVM for which all Java programs are compiled. Each chapter includes practical and invaluable Java programming tips and a major simulation applet--the source code of which is included on the CD-ROM--that interactively illustrates the concepts presented in the chapter. All key JVM concepts and issues are explored: the Java landscape and JVM structure, including the Java stack architecture and operation; class files, bytecodes, conversions, and verification during class loading; arithmetic, logical, and array operations and control flow; method invocation and return, exceptions, garbage collection and threads; the just-in-time compiler implementation of JVM. What's more, you get a complete reference to the JVM class file format, all JVM bytecodes, and their values. When you understand how the JVM behaves based on the bytecodes generated from the Java compiler--as this books helps you to do--you'll be able to write better, more efficient Java code. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bill Venners (Mountain View, CA) is an 11-year Silicon Valley veteran. He has developed software for the consumer electronics, semiconductor, and life insurance industries and is currently focused on Java--writing a column titled ``Under the Hood'' for JavaWorld. Bill is president of his own custom software development and consulting firm.

About this edition

• Publisher: Computing McGraw-Hill
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0079132480
• ISBN 13: 9780079132482
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 579