virtual machine (VM)

RU: виртуальная машина (ВМ)

A software program that emulates a simplified computer — the 'virtual' CPU. Bytecode languages compile source code to bytecode targeting this virtual CPU rather than a real one. The VM then executes the bytecode by either interpreting each instruction or JIT-compiling hot paths to native machine code. Examples: the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR), the CPython VM. A VM makes bytecode portable across real CPUs: the same .class file runs on x86-64 and ARM because both have a JVM implementation.