JVM bytecode

JVM bytecode is the instruction set architecture (ISA) of the Java virtual machine (JVM), the language to which Java and other JVM-compatible source code is compiled. Each instruction is represented by one byte, hence the name bytecode, making it a compact form of data.

Due to the nature of virtual machines and bytecode, a JVM bytecode program is runnable on any machine with a compatible JVM, without the long process of compiling from source code.

JVM bytecode is used at runtime either interpreted by a JVM or compiled to machine code via just-in-time (JIT) compilation and run as a native application.

As JVM bytecode is designed for cross-platform software compatibility and security, a JVM bytecode application tends to run consistently across various hardware and software configurations.