Java bytecode specification [closed]

Answer 1

This is a bit more specialized, but here is an on-line presentation on how to optimize generated bytecode for running on the JVM. It was presented at the recent JVM Languages Summit conferences. InfoQ has a collection of presentations from that conference which might be of help to someone wanting to bring up a language on the JVM (or to see what's already been done).

Answer 2

Also useful are the javap disassembler and bytecode manipulation frameworks like ASM and BCEL, even if all you want to do is verify your classes.

Answer 3

The book Programming for the Java Virtual Machine explains the JVM instruction set and how to write code for it. It also introduces a bytecode assembler called Oolong, which I have not been able to download. You can, however, use Jasmin, the predecessor of Oolong. Essentially, you write a text file with instructions and Jasmin will spit out a .class file. The book was published in 1999, but it is still a good and gentle introduction to the VM.

Answer 4

A good reference for Java bytecode specification is the The Java Virtual Machine Specification.

See Chapter 4. The class File Format and Chapter 6. The Java Virtual Machine Instruction Set.

Answer 5

A little more "graphic" explanation, IBM developer works: Understanding bytecode makes you a better programmer.

Answer 6

Perhaps check out Preon's example on how to parse a Java class file. It has a fairly complete representation of the bytecode in a Java object model.