(JVM) A specification for software which interprets Java programs that have been compiled into byte-codes, and usually stored in a ".class" file. The JVM instruction set is stack-oriented, with variable instruction length. Unlike some other instruction sets, the JVM' s supports object-oriented programming directly by including instructions for object method invocation (similar to subroutine call in other instruction sets). The JVM itself is written in C and so can be ported to run on most platforms. It needs thread support and I/O (for dynamic class loading). The Java byte-code is independent of the platform. There are also some hardware implementations of the JVM. {Specification (http://www.javasoft.com/docs/books/vmspec/html/VMSpecTOC.doc.html)}. {Sun' s Java chip (http://news.com/News/Item/0,4,9328,00.html)}. [Documentation? Versions?] (2000-01-03)
