Click on image for full size picure
Java is a programming language first and foremost. There are other parts to Java including the runtime environment, the JVM, and the development kit, JDK. The Java source is compiled during the build stage. It is compiled into bytecode. The problem with bytecode is that all programming languages have a format to which the program is complied into, but only Java has a name for it. Java does not have to be compiled into bytecode, but can be compiled into a format to be directly executed just like C or C++.