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GraalVM and the Java Virtual Machine

Any application that runs on the Java HotSpot Virtual Machine can also run on GraalVM. GraalVM is based on the Java HotSpot Virtual Machine, and integrates an advanced just-in-time (JIT) compiler written in Java—the Graal compiler. At runtime, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) loads the application and analyzes its code to detect performance bottlenecks, or hot spots. The JVM passes the performance-critical code to the Graal compiler, which compiles it to machine code and returns it to the JVM.

The Graal compiler can improve the efficiency and the speed of applications written in Java, Scala, Kotlin, or other JVM languages through its unique approaches to code analysis and optimization. For example, it assures performance advantages for highly-abstracted applications due to its ability to remove costly object allocations. Find some of the platform-independent compiler optimizations in GraalVM Community Edition here.

The Graal compiler is now also integrated with the Java HotSpot Virtual Machine. To find out more, see the Graal compiler page.

Interoperability #

GraalVM also includes the Truffle language implementation framework—a library, written in Java—to build interpreters for programming languages, which then run on GraalVM. These “Graal languages” can consequently benefit from the optimization possibilities of the Graal compiler. The pipeline for such compilation is:

  • The Truffle framework code and data (Abstract Syntax Trees) is partially evaluated to produce a compilation graph. When such an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) is “hot” (that is, called many times), it is scheduled for compilation by the compiler.
  • The compilation graph is optimized by the Graal compiler to produce machine code.
  • JVMCI installs this machine code in the JVM’s code cache.
  • The AST will automatically redirect execution to the installed machine code once it is available.

See the Polyglot Programming and Embedding Languages guides for more information about interoperability with other programming languages.

Ahead-of-time Compilation #

Besides the Truffle framework, GraalVM incorporates its compiler into an advanced ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation technology—Native Image—which translates Java and JVM-based code into a native platform executable. These native executables start nearly instantaneously, are smaller, and consume less resources of the same Java application, making them ideal for cloud deployments and microservices. For more information about AOT compilation, see Native Image.

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