JIT
       Just In Time [compiler]

	

	dynamic translation
JIT
just-in-time

    A virtual machine implementation approach,
   used to speed up execution of byte-code programs.  To
   execute a program unit such as a method or a function, the
   virtual machine compiles its bytecodes into (hardware) machine
   code.  The translated code is also placed in a cache, so that
   next time that unit's machine code can be executed
   immediately, without repeating the translation.

   This technique was pioneered by the commercial Smalltalk
   implementation currently known as VisualWorks, in the early
   1980s.  Currently it is also used by some implementations of
   the Java Virtual Machine under the name JIT (Just In Time
   compilation).

   [Peter L. Deutsch and Alan Schiffman. "Efficient
   Implementation of the Smalltalk-80 System", 11th Annual
   Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages, Jan 1984,
   pp. 297-302].

   (2002-04-15)