A guide to JVM interpretation and compilation

Java is a platform-independent language. Programs are converted to bytecode after compilation. This bytecode gets converted to machine code at runtime. An interpreter emulates the execution of bytecode instructions for the abstract machine on a specific physical machine. Just-in-time (JIT) compilation happens at some point during execution, and ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation happens during build time.  This article explains when an interpreter comes into play and when JIT and AOT will occur. I also discuss the trade-offs between JIT and AOT.