Before You Read This Guide

Before reading this guide, familiarize yourself with the main concepts in the Java Class File (chapter 4) of the Java Virtual Machine Specification (2.0). This public spec is rather old, but updates to the class file format can be found described in JSR 202 final release specification from the Java Community Process (JCP).

How This Guide Is Organized

This guide consists of the following sections:

• Chapter 1 describes the code assembly process in general, and introduces the Asm Tools.

• Chapter 2 introduces the two types of assemblers/dissassemblers in Asm Tools (JASM, JCoder), and the strengths and applications of each.

• Chapter 3 introduces the syntax of the JASM and JCoder formats.

• Appendix A provides a detailed view of the JASM syntax

• Appendix B provides a detailed view of JCoder syntax