I’m trying to understand how program execution works at the machine level.

As I understand it, a CPU executes native machine instructions. When we compile C/C++ code, the compiler typically generates native machine code that the CPU can execute directly.

Java works differently: the Java compiler (javac) compiles Java source code into bytecode, which the JVM can execute.

My initial understanding was:

Java source code → Bytecode → JVM interpreter → Native machine code → CPU

I imagined that the JVM interpreter reads bytecode instructions one by one, converts each instruction into native machine code, and then the CPU executes that generated machine code.

However, I learned that the JVM interpreter itself is implemented in native machine code. This confused me because the interpreter also needs the CPU to execute it.

I’m trying to understand the following:

1. If the JVM interpreter is already native machine code, does it read bytecode instructions and execute the corresponding operations using its existing native code, rather than generating new native machine code?
2. Does a traditional JVM interpreter execute bytecode directly through its own native instructions, without translating each bytecode instruction into a new native instruction?
3. How does the JIT compiler differ from the interpreter in this regard

My analogy is that I speak Spanish, but the CPU understands X language (since different CPU architectures have different machine instructions, I’m using X to represent them).

Java bytecode is English (the javac compiler converts Java source code into bytecode, which I’m comparing to English), and the JVM understands how to interpret English and knows X language.

I initially thought the JVM translates those instructions into X language for the CPU, but now I’m unsure whether the interpreter simply uses its existing native code to carry out the instructions.

Could someone help me correct my mental model?

Hello, I need to create a secure link to send to a user, but I am unsure how to implement this or what terminology to use for my research. Could someone provide recommendations, tools, or specific concepts I should look into?

hey yall I'm a recent high school grad trying to learn java. i know a tiny bit of basics from like 2 years ago but i basically need to fresh restart and actually get good.

the problem is every time i watch those youtube playlists (like kunal kushwaha) i get hella bored/sleepy. i wanna grind for like 3 hours a day but tutorial hell is not it.

For anyone who self studied java without losing their minds..how did u actually learn the basics actively? are there any interactive sites, text guides, or early project ideas that kept u going? how do u structure ur study sessions so ur actually coding?