Whats the best way to learn about VM implementation besides actually hacking code?

Question

I\'d like to learn more about VM implementation and optimization. Right now I\'m contributing (in a small way) with JRuby and am also playing/writing with my own lisp-like langu

Answer 1

Read the work of Anton Ertl. Also David Gregg. Also you might want to read the Smalltalk blue book which has three chapters on the VM. The Smalltalk Green Book is also interesting and is free online.

Less technical but still interesting, if you have access to the ACM Digital Library, is the grand-daddy of all portable VMs, UCSD Pascal.

Fninally, I second the recommendation of The Implementation of Lua 5.0. This is superb work.