The Java Virtual Machine Specification, Java SE 7 Edition

Written by the inventors of the technology, The Java® Virtual Machine Specification, Java SE 7 Edition, is the definitive technical reference for the Java Virtual Machine.   The book provides complete, accurate, and detailed coverage of the Java Virtual Machine. It fully describes the invokedynamic instruction and method handle mechanism added in Java SE 7, and gives the formal Prolog specification of the type-checking verifier introduced in Java SE 6. The book also includes the class file extensions for generics and annotations defined in Java SE 5.0, and aligns the instruction set and initialization rules with the Java Memory Model.  

Table of Contents:
Preface to the Java SE 7 Edition   xiii Preface to the Second Edition    xv Preface to the First Edition    xvii   Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1  A Bit of History   1 1.2  The Java Virtual Machine   2 1.3  Summary of Chapters   3 1.4  Notation   4   Chapter 2: The Structure of the Java Virtual Machine    5 2.1 The class File Format   5 2.2    Data Types   6 2.3    Primitive Types and Values   6 2.4    Reference Types and Values   11 2.5    Run-Time Data Areas   11 2.6    Frames   15 2.7    Representation of Objects   19 2.8    Floating-Point Arithmetic   19 2.9 Special Methods   22 2.10  Exceptions   23 2.11  Instruction Set Summary   25 2.12  Class Libraries   37 2.13  Public Design, Private Implementation   37   Chapter 3: Compiling for the Java Virtual Machine 39 3.1    Format of Examples   39 3.2 Use of Constants, Local Variables, and Control Constructs   40 3.3    Arithmetic   45 3.4    Accessing the Run-Time Constant Pool   46 3.5    More Control Examples   47 3.6    Receiving Arguments   49 3.7    Invoking Methods   50 3.8 Working with Class Instances   53 3.9 Arrays   55 3.10  Compiling Switches   57 3.11  Operations on the Operand Stack   58 3.12  Throwing and Handling Exceptions   59 3.13  Compiling finally   63 3.14  Synchronization   66 3.15  Annotations   67   Chapter 4: The class File Format 69 4.1   The ClassFile  Structure   70 4.2   The Internal Form of Names   75 4.3   Descriptors and Signatures   76 4.4   The Constant Pool   82 4.5   Fields   95 4.6   Methods   97 4.7   Attributes   100 4.8   Format Checking   140 4.9   Constraints on Java Virtual Machine code   140 4.10  Verification of class  Files   148 4.11  Limitations of the Java Virtual Machine   334   Chapter 5: Loading, Linking, and Initializing 337 5.1  The Run-Time Constant Pool   337 5.2  Java Virtual Machine Startup   340 5.3  Creation and Loading   340 5.4  Linking   347 5.5  Initialization   359 5.6  Binding Native Method Implementations   362 5.7  Java Virtual Machine Exit   362   Chapter 6: The Java Virtual Machine Instruction Set 363 6.1   Assumptions: The Meaning of "Must"   363 6.2   Reserved Opcodes   364 6.3   Virtual Machine Errors   364 6.4   Format of Instruction Descriptions   365 6.5   Instructions   368   Chapter 7: Opcode Mnemonics by Opcode   565   Index    569   Appendix A: Limited License Grant    587