Java Virtual Machine (Java Series) - Softcover

Downing, Troy; Meyer, Jon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565921941 ISBN 13: 9781565921948

Publisher: O'Reilly Media, 1997

Synopsis

The Java Virtual Machine is the software implementation of a "CPU" designed to run compiled Java code. This includes stand-alone Java applications, as well as "applets" that are downloaded and run in Web browsers such as the NetScape Navigator. This book is a comprehensive programming guide for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The book is divided into two sections: the first section includes information on the semantics and structure of the JVM; the second section is a reference of the JVM instructions, or "opcodes." This book is intended to give readers a strong overview and reference of the JVM so that they may create their own implementations of the JVM or write their own compilers that create Java object code. The programming guide includes numerous examples written in Java assembly language. A Java assembler is provided with the book, so the examples can all be compiled and executed. The reference section offers a complete description of the instruction set of the VM and the class file format, including a description of the byte-code verifier.Perhaps the most important reason for learning about the Java Virtual Machine is that it gives you additional tools for solving programming problems in Java. The Java architecture is very open -- it's easy to add programatic extensions to Java, once you have learned the basic rules of the Java Virtual Machine. And the Java Virtual Machine is portable, so you only have to write the extension once.So if you don't like how a particular feature of the Java language works, why not create an extension library that operates in the way you need it to? It's not as hard as you might think, and this book gives you all the details you need.For example, if your application has a lot of matrix manipulation code in it, you probably want to write the matrix equations using operators like *, +, / and -. But Java doesn't let you override these operators. The solution? Create a simple parser that compiles the matrix expressions into efficient JVM code directly. You can then call the resulting methods from any Java program, in any interpreter.Alternatively, you might be writing a rule-based application and want to express the rules using easy-to-read syntax. Create a JVM interface that lets you do this quickly, elegantly, and efficiently.Using JVM unleashes the true power of Java -- making it possible to develop additional syntaxes for expressing the problems you want to solve, and giving you the ultimate control over the performance of your application.So if you want to be ahead of the competition, get started on the JVM. Create applications that include operator overloading, user-extensible syntax words, dynamic generation of classes and methods, and much more. You can overcome design features of the Java language, or even create your own languages. And because of the architecture of the Java Virtual machine, you can do this simply, portably, and efficiently: your work will be accessible from any Java application, in any Java interpreter on nearly any computer.

About this title

Review

This book is a comprehensive programming guide for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It gives the reader a strong overview and reference of the JVM so that they may create their own implementations of the JVM or write their own compilers that create Java object code.

Perhaps the most important reason for learning about the Java Virtual Machine is that it gives you additional tools for solving programming problems in Java. The Java architecture is very open -- its easy to add programatic extensions to Java, once you have learned the basic rules of the Java Virtual Machine. And the Java Virtual Machine is portable, so you only have to write the extension once.

So if you don't like how a particular feature of the Java language works, why not create an extension library which operates in the way you need it to? Its not as hard as you might think, and this book gives you all the details you need.

About the Author

Jon Meyer has been working with high-level languages and Virtual Machine architectures for the past nine years, primarily as a developer for Poplog, an advanced programming toolset developed by the University of Sussex and marketed commercially by Integral Solutions Ltd. In 1994, Jon moved to New York to join the NYU Media Research Laboratory as a researcher, working under the direction of Professor Ken Perlin. Jon's main research interests include real-time 2D and 3D computer graphics, multimedia, distributed systems, artificial intelligence, programming languages, and human computer interfaces. Visit his homepage on the Web at http://www.mrl.nyu.edu/meyer. Troy Downing is a research scientist and programmer specializing in Internet technologies at New York University's Media Research Lab. Troy is also adjunct faculty in the Information Technology Institute of NYU, teaching classes on web server technologies, Java, CGI, and HTML authoring. Troy owns an Internet software development company that specializes in web-based groupware called WebCal LLC that can be found online at: http://www.webcal.com/. He has been a primary force in WWW development at the Media Research Lab and has recently turned his focus to Java, working on porting many of the Media Research Lab's efforts to a Java platform. He has co-authored a number of web-related books, including HTML Web Publisher's Construction Kit and Java Primer Plus. Besides his involvement in Internet technologies, Troy is also an avid mountain biker, homebrewer, and first-time father of his young daughter, Morgan.

Edition details

• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1565921941
• ISBN 13: 9781565921948
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 450