The Benefits of Using Intermediate Code and Virtual Machines in Programming

What are the main advantages of using intermediate code running on a virtual machine?

a) execution performance (relative to fully compiled code)
b) language independence
c) effective resource utilization
d) the use of operating system capabilities
e) platform portability

Answer:

The use of intermediate code on a virtual machine primarily facilitates platform portability, as it allows programs to run on different systems without modification. Additionally, it supports language independence.

The use of intermediate code running on a virtual machine facilitates several aspects of programming, but with regards to the options provided, it primarily facilitates platform portability. This is because intermediate code is not compiled directly to the native code of the host system, but rather to an intermediate representation that can be executed by a virtual machine designed to run on many different systems. This approach allows programs to be written once and run anywhere, regardless of the underlying hardware and operating system.

While platform portability is a significant advantage, intermediate code and virtual machines are also conducive to language independence, as they allow code written in different languages to be executed in the same runtime environment, provided there are appropriate compilers to the intermediate language.