r/javahelp • u/invokeinterface • 10h ago
Good Documentation For JVM Bytecode?
I really liked the idea of an intermediate bytecode language when I first learned that Java transpiles to one, so I tried to learn about it and got pretty far (using a hexeditor to mess around was pretty painful, though). I stopped because there isn't a lot of document for it like there is for Java, the best resources are I believe docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jvms/se7/html/jvms-4.html and docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jvms/se7/html/jvms-6.html, but I want to know if there are any others partly because these are kind of verbose and partly because it's just better to have more than two.
I know I won't ever really need to know any of this, and I don't intend to use any of this knowledge for making classes by hand, but I believe it would still be helpful in a milder sense to understand what the class files are "literally" doing. It helped with C
4
u/benevanstech 8h ago
You might find my book "The Well-Grounded Java Developer" (2nd Ed) interesting. There are several chapters on bytecode and related topics. I also have quite a few free resources on my website: https://kittylyst.com/ - some of which talk about bytecode.
2
u/jivedudebe Extreme Brewer 10h ago
You can use javap you output the opcodes directly. Then there are tons of websites with lists of all the opcodes
1
1
u/belayon40 7h ago
Check out the bytecode API from the last couple of JVMs. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I used it extensively to build classes dynamically.
https://github.com/boulder-on/JPassport
Look in the code builder package.
•
u/AutoModerator 10h ago
Please ensure that:
You demonstrate effort in solving your question/problem - plain posting your assignments is forbidden (and such posts will be removed) as is asking for or giving solutions.
Trying to solve problems on your own is a very important skill. Also, see Learn to help yourself in the sidebar
If any of the above points is not met, your post can and will be removed without further warning.
Code is to be formatted as code block (old reddit: empty line before the code, each code line indented by 4 spaces, new reddit: https://i.imgur.com/EJ7tqek.png) or linked via an external code hoster, like pastebin.com, github gist, github, bitbucket, gitlab, etc.
Please, do not use triple backticks (```) as they will only render properly on new reddit, not on old reddit.
Code blocks look like this:
You do not need to repost unless your post has been removed by a moderator. Just use the edit function of reddit to make sure your post complies with the above.
If your post has remained in violation of these rules for a prolonged period of time (at least an hour), a moderator may remove it at their discretion. In this case, they will comment with an explanation on why it has been removed, and you will be required to resubmit the entire post following the proper procedures.
To potential helpers
Please, do not help if any of the above points are not met, rather report the post. We are trying to improve the quality of posts here. In helping people who can't be bothered to comply with the above points, you are doing the community a disservice.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.