•Java was designed to run on any platform. •With Java, you write the program once and compile the source program in to a byte code with .class extension source program into a byte codewith .class extension •Java is a high-level language while Java byte code is a low-level language. gg •The byte code is similar to machine instructions but is architecture neutral and can run on any platform that has a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) •Rather than a physical machine, the virtual machine is program that interprets Java byte code. •Java byte code can run on a variety of hardware platforms and operating system