The Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler is a component of the Java™ Runtime Environment. It improves the performance of Java applications by compiling bytecodes to native machine code at run time.
Java programs consists of classes, which contain platform-neutral bytecodes that can be interpreted by a JVM on many different computer architectures. At run time, the JVM loads the class files, determines the semantics of each individual bytecode, and performs the appropriate computation. The additional processor and memory usage during interpretation means that a Java application performs more slowly than a native application. The JIT compiler helps improve the performance of Java programs by compiling bytecodes into native machine code at run time.
The JIT compiler is enabled by default, and is activated when a Java method is called. The JIT compiler compiles the bytecodes of that method into native machine code, compiling it "just in time" to run. When a method has been compiled, the JVM calls the compiled code of that method directly instead of interpreting it. Theoretically, if compilation did not require processor time and memory usage, compiling every method could allow the speed of the Java program to approach that of a native application.
JIT compilation does require processor time and memory usage. When the JVM first starts up, thousands of methods are called. Compiling all of these methods can significantly affect startup time, even if the program eventually achieves very good peak performance.
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