CourseOverview

PARTI:overviewmaterial
1
2
3

Introduction
Languageprocessors(tombstonediagrams,bootstrapping)
Architectureofacompiler

PARTII:insideacompiler
4
5
6
7

Syntaxanalysis
Contextualanalysis
Runtimeorganization
Codegeneration

PARTIII:conclusion
8
9

Interpretation
Review

TheJavaVirtualMachine

Supplementarymaterial:
Javasruntimeorganization
andtheJavaVirtualMachine

WhatThisTopicisAbout
WelookattheJVMasanexampleofarealworldruntimesystem
foramodernobjectorientedprogramminglanguage.
JVMisprobablythemostcommonandwidelyusedVMinthe
world,soyoullgetabetterideawhatarealVMlookslike.
JVMisanabstractmachine.
WhatistheJVMarchitecture?
Whatisthestructureof.classfiles?
HowareJVMinstructionsexecuted?
Whatistheroleoftheconstantpoolindynamiclinking?
AlsovisitthissiteformorecompleteinformationabouttheJVM:
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/vmspec/2ndedition/html/VMSpecTOC.doc.html
TheJavaVirtualMachine

Recap:InterpretiveCompilers
Why?
Atradeoffbetweenfast(er)compilationandareasonableruntime
performance.
How?
Useanintermediatelanguage
morehighlevelthanmachinecode=>easiertocompileto
morelowlevelthansourcelanguage=>easytoimplementasan
interpreter
Example:AJavaDevelopmentKitformachineM
Java>JVM
M
TheJavaVirtualMachine

JVM
M

AbstractMachines
Abstractmachineimplementsanintermediatelanguageinbetween
thehighlevellanguage(e.g.Java)andthelowlevelhardware(e.g.
Pentium)
Highlevel

Java

ImplementedinJava:
Machineindependent

Java

Javacompiler
JVM(.classfiles)
JavaJVMinterpreter
orJVMJITcompiler
Lowlevel

Pentium

TheJavaVirtualMachine

Pentium

AbstractMachines
Anabstractmachineisintendedspecificallyasaruntimesystemfor
aparticular(kindof)programminglanguage.
JVMisavirtualmachineforJavaprograms.
Itdirectlysupportsobjectorientedconceptssuchasclasses,
objects,methods,methodinvocationetc.
EasytocompileJavatoJVM
=>1.easytoimplementcompiler
2.fastcompilation
Anotheradvantage:portability

TheJavaVirtualMachine

ClassFilesandClassFileFormat
Externalrepresentation
(platformindependent)
.class files

load

JVM

Internalrepresentation
(implementationdependent)
classes
objects

primitivetypes
arrays
strings
methods

TheJVMisanabstractmachineinthetruestsenseoftheword.
TheJVMspecificationdoesnotgiveimplementationdetails(canbe
dependentontargetOS/platform,performancerequirements,etc.)
TheJVMspecificationdefinesamachineindependentclassfile
formatthatallJVMimplementationsmustsupport.
TheJavaVirtualMachine

DataTypes
JVM(andJava)distinguishesbetweentwokindsoftypes:
Primitivetypes:
boolean:boolean
numericintegral:byte, short, int, long, char
numericfloatingpoint:float, double
internal,forexceptionhandling:returnAddress
Referencetypes:
classtypes
arraytypes
interfacetypes
Note:Primitivetypesarerepresenteddirectly,referencetypesare
representedindirectly(aspointerstoarrayorclassinstances).
TheJavaVirtualMachine

JVM:RuntimeDataAreas
BesidesOOconcepts,JVMalsosupportsmultithreading.Threadsare
directlysupportedbytheJVM.
=>Twokindsofruntimedataareas:
1.sharedbetweenallthreads
2.privatetoasinglethread
Shared
GarbageCollected
Heap

Methodarea

TheJavaVirtualMachine

Thread1
pc
Java
Stack

Thread2
pc

Native
Method
Stack

Java
Stack

Native
Method
Stack

JavaStacks
JVMisastackbasedmachine,muchlikeTAM.
JVMinstructions
implicitlytakeargumentsfromthestacktop
puttheirresultonthetopofthestack
Thestackisusedto
passargumentstomethods
returnaresultfromamethod
storeintermediateresultswhileevaluatingexpressions
storelocalvariables
Thisworkssimilarlyto(butnotexactlythesameas)whatwe
previouslydiscussedaboutstackbasedstorageallocationand
routines.

TheJavaVirtualMachine

StackFrames
TheJavastackconsistsofframes.TheJVMspecificationdoesnotsay
exactlyhowthestackandframesshouldbeimplemented.
TheJVMspecificationspecifiesthatastackframehasareasfor:
Pointertoruntimeconstantpool
args
+
localvars
operandstack

Anewcallframeiscreatedbyexecuting
someJVMinstructionforinvokinga
method(e.g.invokevirtual,
invokenonvirtual,...)
Theoperandstackisinitiallyempty,
butgrowsandshrinksduringexecution.

TheJavaVirtualMachine

StackFrames
Therole/purposeofeachoftheareasinastackframe:
pointerto
constantpool
args
+
localvars
operandstack

UsedimplicitlywhenexecutingJVM
instructionsthatcontainentriesintothe
constantpool(moreaboutthislater).
Spacewheretheargumentsandlocalvariables
ofamethodarestored.Thisincludesaspace
forthereceiver(this)atposition/offset0.
Stackforstoringintermediateresults
duringtheexecutionofthemethod.
Initiallyitisempty.
Themaximumdepthisknownat
compiletime.

TheJavaVirtualMachine

StackFrames
AnimplementationusingregisterssuchasSB,ST,andLBanda
dynamiclinkisonepossibleimplementation.
topreviousframeonthestack
SB

LB

dynamiclink
args
+
localvars
operandstack

ST
TheJavaVirtualMachine

toruntimeconstantpool
JVMinstructionsstoreandload
(foraccessingargsandlocals)use
addresseswhicharenumbers
from0to#args+#locals1

JVMInterpreter
ThecoreofaJVMinterpreterisbasicallythis:
do {
byte opcode = fetch an opcode;
switch (opcode) {
case opCode1 :
fetch operands for opCode1;
execute action for opCode1;
break;
case opCode2 :
fetch operands for opCode2;
execute action for opCode2;
break;
case ...
} while (more to do)
TheJavaVirtualMachine

Instructionset:typedinstructions!
JVMinstructionsareexplicitlytyped:differentopCodesfor
instructionsforintegers,floats,arrays,referencetypes,etc.
Thisisreflectedbyanamingconventioninthefirstletterofthe
opCodemnemonics:
Example:differenttypesofloadinstructions
iload
lload
fload
dload
aload

integerload
longload
floatload
doubleload
referencetypeload

TheJavaVirtualMachine

Instructionset:kindsofoperands
JVMinstructionshavethreekindsofoperands:
fromthetopoftheoperandstack
fromthebytesfollowingtheopCode
partoftheopCodeitself
Eachinstructionmayhavedifferentformssupportingdifferent
kindsofoperands.
Example:differentformsofiload
Assemblycode
Binaryinstructioncodelayout
iload_0
26
iload_1
27
iload_2
28
iload_3
29
iload n
21
n
wide iload n
TheJavaVirtualMachine

196

21

Instructionset:accessingargumentsandlocals
argumentsandlocalsareainsideastackframe
0:
1:
2:
3:

Instructionexamples:
iload_1
istore_1
iload_3
astore_1
aload5
fstore_3
aload_0
TheJavaVirtualMachine

args:indexes0..#args1
locals:indexes#args..#args+#locals1
Aloadinstructiontakessomething
fromtheargs/localsareaandpushes
itontothetopoftheoperandstack.
Astoreinstructionpopssomething
fromthetopoftheoperandstack
andplacesitintheargs/localsarea.

Instructionset:nonlocalmemoryaccess
IntheJVM,thecontentsofdifferentkindsofmemorycanbe
accessedbydifferentkindsofinstructions.
accessinglocalsandarguments:loadandstoreinstructions
accessingfieldsinobjects:getfield, putfield
accessingstaticfields:getstatic, putstatic
Note:Staticfieldsarealotlikeglobalvariables.Theyareallocated
inthemethodareawherealsocodeformethodsand
representationsforclasses(includingmethodtables)arestored.
Note:getfieldandputfieldaccessmemoryintheheap.
Note:JVMdoesnthaveanythingsimilartoregistersL1,L2,etc.
TheJavaVirtualMachine

Instructionset:operationsonnumbers
Arithmetic
add:iadd, ladd, fadd, dadd
subtract:isub, lsub, fsub, dsub
multiply:imul, lmul, fmul, dmul
etc.
Conversion
i2l, i2f, i2d,
l2f, l2d, f2d,
f2i, d2i,

TheJavaVirtualMachine

Instructionset
Operandstackmanipulation
pop, pop2, dup, dup2, swap,
Controltransfer
Unconditional:goto, jsr, ret,
Conditional:ifeq, iflt, ifgt, if_icmpeq,

TheJavaVirtualMachine

Instructionset
Methodinvocation:
invokevirtual:usualinstructionforcallingamethodonan
object.
invokeinterface:sameasinvokevirtual,butused
whenthecalledmethodisdeclaredinaninterface(requiresa
differentkindofmethodlookup)
invokespecial:forcallingthingssuchasconstructors,
whicharenotdynamicallydispatched(thisinstructionisalso
knownasinvokenonvirtual).
invokestatic:forcallingmethodsthathavethestatic
modifier(thesemethodsaresenttoaclass,nottoanobject).
Returningfrommethods:
return, ireturn, lreturn, areturn, freturn,

TheJavaVirtualMachine

Instructionset:HeapMemoryAllocation
Createnewclassinstance(object):
new
Createnewarray:
newarray:forcreatingarraysofprimitivetypes.
anewarray, multianewarray:forarraysofreference
types.

TheJavaVirtualMachine

InstructionsandtheConstantPool
ManyJVMinstructionshaveoperandswhichareindexespointingto
anentryinthesocalledconstantpool.
Theconstantpoolcontainsallkindsofentriesthatrepresent
symbolicreferencesforlinking.Thisisthewaythatinstructions
refertothingssuchasclasses,interfaces,fields,methods,and
constantssuchasstringliteralsandnumbers.
Thesearethekindsofconstantpoolentriesthatexist:
Integer
Class_info
Float
Fieldref_info
Long
Methodref_info
Double
InterfaceMethodref_info
Name_and_Type_info
String
Utf8_info(Unicodecharacters)
TheJavaVirtualMachine

InstructionsandtheConstantPool
Example:Weexaminethegetfieldinstructionindetail.
Format:

180

indexbyte1

CONSTANT_Fieldref_info{
u1tag;
u2class_index;
u2name_and_type_index;
}

Class_info{
u1tag;
u2name_index;
}

CONSTANT_Name_and_Type_info{
u1tag;
u2name_index;
u2descriptor_index;
}
TheJavaVirtualMachine

indexbyte2
Utf8Info
fully
qualified
classname

Utf8Info
nameoffield
Utf8Info
fielddescriptor

InstructionsandtheConstantPool
Thatpreviouspictureisrathercomplicated,letssimplifyitalittle:
Format:

180

indexbyte1

indexbyte2

Fieldref

Class

Utf8Info
fullyqualified
classname

TheJavaVirtualMachine

Name_and_Type
Utf8Info
nameoffield

Utf8Info
fielddescriptor

InstructionsandtheConstantPool
TheconstantentriesformatispartoftheJavaclassfileformat.
Luckily,wehaveaJavaassemblerthatallowsustowriteakindof
textualassemblycodeandthatisthentransformedintoabinary
.classfile.
Thisassemblertakescareofcreatingtheconstantpoolentriesforus.
Whenaninstructionoperandexpectsaconstantpoolentrythe
assemblerallowsyoutoentertheentryinplaceinaneasysyntax.
Example:
getfield mypackage/Queue i I

TheJavaVirtualMachine

InstructionsandtheConstantPool
FullyqualifiedclassnamesanddescriptorsinconstantpoolUTF8
entries.
1.Fullyqualifiedclassname:apackage+classnamestring.Note
thisuses/insteadof.toseparateeachlevelalongthepath.
2.Descriptor:astringthatdefinesatypeforamethodorfield.
Java
boolean
integer
Object
String[]
int foo(int,Object)
TheJavaVirtualMachine

descriptor
Z
I
Ljava/lang/Object;
[Ljava/lang/String;
(ILjava/lang/Object;)I

Linking
Ingeneral,linkingistheprocessofresolvingsymbolicreferencesin
binaryfiles.
Mostprogramminglanguageimplementationshavewhatwecall
separatecompilation.Modulesorfilescanbecompiledseparately
andtransformedintosomebinaryformat.Butsincetheseseparately
compiledfilesmayhaveconnectionstootherfiles,theyhavetobe
linked.
=>Thebinaryfileisnotyetexecutable,becauseithassomekindof
symboliclinksinitthatpointtothings(classes,methods,functions,
variables,etc.)inotherfiles/modules.
Linkingistheprocessofresolvingthesesymboliclinksandreplacing
thembyrealaddressessothatthecodecanbeexecuted.
TheJavaVirtualMachine

LoadingandLinkinginJVM
InJVM,loadingandlinkingofclassfileshappensatruntime,while
theprogramisrunning!
Classesareloadedasneeded.
Theconstantpoolcontainssymbolicreferencesthatneedtobe
resolvedbeforeaJVMinstructionthatusesthemcanbeexecuted
(thisistheequivalentoflinking).
InJVMaconstantpoolentryisresolvedthefirsttimeitisusedbya
JVMinstruction.
Example:
Whenagetfieldisexecutedforthefirsttime,theconstantpool
entryindexintheinstructioncanbereplacedbytheoffsetofthefield.
TheJavaVirtualMachine

ClosingExample
AsaclosingexampleontheJVM,wewilltakealookatthe
compiledcodeofthefollowingsimpleJavaclassdeclaration.
class Factorial {
int fac(int n) {
int result = 1;
for (int i=2; i<n; i++) {
result = result * i;
}
return result;
}
}
TheJavaVirtualMachine

CompilingandDisassembling
% javac Factorial.java
% javap -c -verbose Factorial
Compiled from Factorial.java
class Factorial extends java.lang.Object {
Factorial();
/* Stack=1, Locals=1, Args_size=1 */
int fac(int);
/* Stack=2, Locals=4, Args_size=2 */
}
Method Factorial()
0 aload_0
1 invokespecial #1 <Method java.lang.Object()>
4 return

TheJavaVirtualMachine

CompilingandDisassembling...
// address:
Method int fac(int) // stack:
0 iconst_1
// stack:
1 istore_2
// stack:
2 iconst_2
// stack:
3 istore_3
// stack:
4 goto 14
7 iload_2
// stack:
8 iload_3
// stack:
9 imul
// stack:
10 istore_2
// stack:
11 iinc 3 1
// stack:
14 iload_3
// stack:
15 iload_1
// stack:
16 if_icmplt 7
// stack:
19 iload_2
// stack:
20 ireturn
TheJavaVirtualMachine

0
this
this
this
this
this

1
n
n
n
n
n

2
result
result
result
result
result

3
i
i 1
i
i 2
i

this
this
this
this
this
this
this
this
this

n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n

result
result
result
result
result
result
result
result
result

i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i

result
result i
result*i

i
i n
result

WritingFactorialinjasmin
JasminisaJavaAssemblerInterface.IttakesASCIIdescriptions
forJavaclasses,writteninasimpleassemblerlikesyntaxandusing
theJavaVirtualMachineinstructionset.Itconvertsthemintobinary
JavaclassfilessuitableforloadingintoaJVMimplementation.
.class
.classpackage
packageFactorial
Factorial
.super
.superjava/lang/Object
java/lang/Object
.method
.methodpackage
package<init>(
<init>()V
)V
.limit
.limitstack
stack50
50
.limit
.limitlocals
locals11
aload_0
aload_0
invokenonvirtual
invokenonvirtualjava/lang/Object/<init>(
java/lang/Object/<init>()V
)V
return
return
.end
.endmethod
method
TheJavaVirtualMachine

WritingFactorialinjasmin(continued)
.methodpackagefac(I)I
.limitstack50
.limitlocals4
iconst_1
istore2
iconst_2
istore3
Label_1:
iload3
iload1
if_icmpltLabel_4
iconst_0
gotoLabel_5
Label_4:
iconst_1
Label_5:
ifeqLabel_2

TheJavaVirtualMachine

iload2
iload3
imul
dup
istore2
pop
Label_3:
iload3
dup
iconst_1
iadd
istore3
pop
gotoLabel_1
Label_2:
iload2
ireturn
iconst_0
ireturn
.endmethod