Inside the Java 2 Virtual Machine

Update of the best book on the Java Virtual Machine the only one praised by JavaWorld as "excellent" and "much stronger" than any competition. Thorough revision with all-new material covering the just-released version that rockets Java into the big league. First-time coverage on using Native Methods with the JNI specification, complete with a hands-on tutorial. CD-ROM packed with source code, interactive illustrations, latest Java Development Kit, and a resources Web site.

Want to Write Better Java Programs? Look Under the Hood and See What Makes the Ingenious Java Engine Run!

This in-depth guide to Java's architecture and internals is your key to writing more effective and efficient Java code. By understanding the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), you will gain insights into the inner workings of Java technology that will help you harness the full range of Java's capabilities in your programs.

In addition, this comprehensive volume explains the architecture of the JVM, including the interaction of the Java stack, the heap, the method area, and the execution engine. It includes in-depth discussions of various implementation techniques, such as interpreting, just-in-time compiling, and adaptive optimization. It also describes the behavior of Java threads and the Java monitor.

It also covers garbage collection, including reference objects, the train algorithm, and object finalization. Finally the intricacies of the Java security model are discussed, including type safety, the class loader architecture, class verifier, security manager, access controller, and code signing.

With this guide, you'll understand Java's linking model dynamic extension, and you'll learn how to write class loaders. You'll also uncover the seven steps to writing a platform independent Java program.