SableVM

<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2>
<p>The core engine is an <a href="/facts/Interpreter_(computing)/JB85fbyb">interpreter</a> which used ground-breaking techniques to deliver performance that can approach that of a "naive" <a href="/facts/Just-in-time_compilation/rEYDsd8l">just-in-time (JIT) compiler</a>, while retaining the <a href="/facts/Software_engineering/KX6cE9kz">software engineering</a> advantages of interpreters: <a href="/facts/Porting/7s6tFs8B">portability</a>, <a href="/facts/Maintainability/SmyLaINQ">maintainability</a> and <a href="/facts/Simplicity/FydqnHv6">simplicity</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> This simplicity makes SableVM's <a href="/facts/Source_code/o9J6Jv23">source code</a> very accessible and easy to understand for new users/programmers.
</p><p>SableVM is <a href="/facts/Free_Software/IaoVtJXn">Free Software</a> — it is licensed under the <a href="/facts/GNU/HlAKKBdt">GNU</a> Lesser General Public License (<a href="/facts/LGPL/AXwkz9x3">LGPL</a>). It also makes use of <a href="/facts/GNU_Classpath/rMSHp6ce">GNU Classpath</a> (copyrighted by the <a href="/facts/Free_Software_Foundation/k0sBmw7y">FSF</a>) which is licensed under the <a href="/facts/GPL_linking_exception/yBq2Qanv">GNU General Public License with linking exception</a>.
</p><p>SableVM is the first <a href="/facts/Open-source_software/HzTaB8E9">open-source</a> virtual machine for Java to include the support for <a href="/facts/JVMDI/shf76YnG">JVMDI</a> (Java Virtual Machine Debugging Interface) and <a href="/facts/JDWP/shf76YnG">JDWP</a> (Java Debug Wire Protocol). These standard Java debugging interfaces are used for example by <a href="/facts/Eclipse_(software)/YoqHVjas">Eclipse</a> to provide a rich and user-friendly Java development environment.
</p>
<h2 id="java-intermediate-language">Java Intermediate Language</h2>
<p>Some versions of the SableVM use Java Intermediate Language, an intermediate language (which is a subset of <a href="/facts/XML/clNgUfWk">XML</a>) representing the type structure of a <a href="/facts/Java_(programming_language)/9ScgFyAL">Java</a> program. The language was proposed by the team of SableVM in <a href="/facts/McGill_University/amouytVp">McGill University</a> in January 2002 to aid the analysis of a Java program with the goals of scalability and good performance.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> The language has not been widely adopted.
</p><p>Consider the following piece of Java code.
</p>
public MyClass implements MyInterface extends MySupperClass {
  int MyField;

void MyMethod (double x, double y) {
    double z;
    z = x + y;
    this.MyField = z
  }
}

<p>This piece can be expressed in the language, as follows:
</p>
<jil>
<class name="MyClass" extends="MySupperClass">
  <modifiers><modifier name="public" /></modifiers>
  <interfaces><interface name="myinterface" /></interfaces>
    
  <fields>
    <field name="MyField" type="int" />
  </fields>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li>Free and open-source software portal</li><li>Computer programming portal</li></ul>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_Java_virtual_machines/PKkGAzDx">List of Java virtual machines</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Free_Java_implementations/CrcKCJ37">Free Java implementations</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.sablevm.org/">Official website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060104214933/http://sablevm.org/devel/">SableVM Development sub-site</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050415051821/http://sablevm.org/wiki/Debug">Information on debugging with SableVM and Eclipse</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.sable.mcgill.ca/jil/class.xml">Java Intermediate Language</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Sun-approved Open Source java making progress". The Inquirer. 2006-03-31. Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved 2012-12-02. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091203151009/http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1027066/sun-approved-open-source-java-making-progress" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20091203151009/http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1027066/sun-approved-open-source-java-making-progress</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"O'Reilly Network wins a Jolt; SNAP Platform gets jolted". Onlamp.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-12-02. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231206/http://www.onlamp.com/pub/wlg/6725" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231206/http://www.onlamp.com/pub/wlg/6725</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"Barbarians at the Gate | SYS-CON.TV". Tv.sys-con.com. 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2012-12-02. <a href="http://tv.sys-con.com/node/273937?page=0,1" target="_blank">http://tv.sys-con.com/node/273937?page=0,1</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Gagnon, Etienne M., and Laurie J. Hendren. "SableVM: A research framework for the efficient execution of Java bytecode." Proceedings of the Java Virtual Machine Research and Technology Symposium. Vol. 1. 2001. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Prokopski, Gregory B., Etienne M. Gagnon, and Christian Arcand. Bytecode testing framework for SableVM code-copying engine. Technical Report SABLETR-2007-9, Sable Research Group, School of Computer Science, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada, 2007. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Eng, David. "JIL: an extensible intermediate language." Sable Research Group, McGill University (2002). <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>Eng, David. Combining static and dynamic data in code visualization. Vol. 28. No. 1. ACM, 2002. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

SableVM open-in-new

SableVM