Chapter 6. The Java Virtual Machine Instruction Set

A Java Virtual Machine instruction consists of an opcode specifying the operation to be performed, followed by zero or more operands embodying values to be operated upon. This chapter gives details about the format of each Java Virtual Machine instruction and the operation it performs.

6.1 Assumptions: The Meaning of “Must”

The description of each instruction is always given in the context of Java Virtual Machine code that satisfies the static and structural constraints of §4 (The class File Format). In the description of individual Java Virtual Machine instructions, we frequently state that some situation “must” or “must not” be the case: “The value2 must be of type int.” The constraints of ...

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