Abstract: A data processing system has a processor core, memory and a virtual machine interpreter. The virtual machine interpreter receives virtual machine instructions selected dependent on program flow during execution of a virtual machine program. The virtual machine interpreter generates native machine instructions that implement the virtual machine instructions for execution by the processor core. The virtual machine interpreter identifies an initial virtual machine instruction from a body of virtual machine instructions, where the body is expected to be executed repeatedly. The virtual machine interpreter records a correspondence between the initial virtual machine instruction in the body and a memory location in the memory and writes native instructions for the body into the memory from said memory location.

Abstract: An interpreter uses a symbol table containing information for resolving symbolic references in instructions. Memory is provided for storing symbolic reference-result associations, the result of the association having resulted from resolving the symbolic reference of the association for an instruction. The memory is organized in groups of locations, each for results for a different category of instructions. During execution of a particular instruction, that group is consulted which is assigned to the category to which the particular instruction belongs. If that group contains an association for the symbolic reference in the particular instruction. If there is such an association, the result from the association is used as operand data for executing the particular instruction. If there is no such association, the particular symbolic reference is resolved by means of the symbol table.

Abstract: Exception detection is expedited in virtual machine interpreter (VMI) accelerator hardware (120) by dispatching fetched bytecodes along with instructions that cause a processor interrupt if the fetched bytecodes cause an exception to be thrown. The processor interrupt serves to indicate to the VMI (120) that an exception condition exists, thereby obviating the need to for the VMI (120) to wait for the result of an exception check to be sent from the CPU (110) to the VMI (120).

Abstract: A data processing system has a processor core, memory and a virtual machine interpreter. The virtual machine interpreter receives virtual machine instructions selected dependent on program flow during execution of a virtual machine program. The virtual machine interpreter generates native machine instructions that implement the virtual machine instructions for execution by the processor core. The virtual machine interpreter identifies an initial virtual machine instruction from a body of virtual machine instructions, where the body is expected to be executed repeatedly. The virtual machine interpreter records a correspondence between the initial virtual machine instruction in the body and a memory location in the memory and writes native instructions for the body into the memory from said memory location.

Abstract: An interpreter uses a symbol table containing information for resolving symbolic references in instructions. Memory is provided for storing symbolic reference-result associations, the result of the association having resulted from resolving the symbolic reference of the association for an instruction. The memory is organized in groups of locations, each for results for a different category of instructions. During execution of a particular instruction, that group is consulted which is assigned to the category to which the particular instruction belongs. If that group contains an association for the symbolic reference in the particular instruction. If there is such an association, the result from the association is used as operand data for executing the particular instruction. If there is no such association, the particular symbolic reference is resolved by means of the symbol table.