Well, this is very much the case according to the article, where James Gosling is quoted as saying: “Then fast-forward a bunch of years, when I was trying to d

Well, this is very much the case according to the article, where James Gosling is quoted as saying: “Then fast-forward a bunch of years, when I was trying to do the project that Java came out of. I had to do this architecture-neutral distribution format, and then I just went ka-ching! You know, this p-code translator thing would actually just drop in there.” The article explained before how Gosling learned about the p-machine: Gosling could have done this by making the requisite fussy changes in every application program and recompiling. But he found an easier way: He wrote code that turned the VAX into a p-machine. Standing on the shoulders of giants.