K Virtual Machine

What Does K Virtual Machine Mean?

K virtual machine (KVM), in a Java context, is a deprecated Java virtual machine (VM) from Sun Microsystems, which is now owned by Oracle Corp. It is designed for resource-limited devices such as cell phones, set-top boxes, personal digital assistants and point-of-sale terminals. The “K” in KVM stands for kilobyte, signifying the small memory space of only a few hundred kilobytes required by the virtual machine.

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Techopedia Explains K Virtual Machine

For a long time, the KVM was employed by developers creating mobile applications using the Java 2 Platform Micro Edition. This low-footprint virtual machine was targeted at devices with 16- to 32-bit processors coupled with a total memory footprint of about 256 KB. It has now been replaced by the connected limited device configuration HotSpot VM.

The KVM specification focused on the following characteristics:

  • Optimized for limited resources
  • Portable to different platforms
  • Modular
  • Extensible

Its platform portability allowed it to run on a wide range of devices.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…