Direct execution of Java byte code is possible thanks to a Java extension to the ARM processor core by ARM Ltd., Cambridge, England. Known as Jazelle, the new Java acceleration feature initially ...

For example, as a post-compilation step you could massage the .class data to make the byte code either harder to read when decompiled or harder to decompile into valid Java code (or both).

The code could have contained a security flaw, for example. If it did, then fixing all the vulnerable applications would have taken months or years, leaving users exposed to attacks.

For example, the Java byte code language is fundamentally a stack-based language, and mounting a stack-based language onto a register-based core is quite a challenge. Nor is Java technology ideal for ...