Computer object code that is processed by a virtual machine. The virtual machine converts generalized machine instructions into specific machine instructions (instructions that a computer’s processor can understand). Bytecode is the result of compiling source language statements written in any language that supports this approach. The best-known language today that uses the bytecode and virtual machine approach is Java. In Java, bytecode is contained in a binary file with a .class suffix. (Strictly speaking, “bytecode” means that the individual instructions are one byte long, as opposed to PowerPC code, for example, which is four bytes long.) See also VM.