Acronym for
Java Virtual Machine. An abstract computing machine, or
virtual machine, JVM is a platform-independent execution environment that converts Java
bytecode into machine language and
executes it. Most programming languages compile source code directly into machine code that is designed to run on a specific
microprocessor architecture or
operating system, such as
Windows or
UNIX. A JVM -- a machine within a machine -- mimics a real
Java processor, enabling Java bytecode to be executed as actions or operating system calls on any processor regardless of the operating system. For example, establishing a socket connection from a workstation to a remote machine involves an operating system call. Since different operating systems handle sockets in different ways, the JVM translates the programming code so that the two machines that may be on different platforms are able to connect.
JVMs are not the only virtual machines being used today.
