Compiling Java compiler code?

Question

Hi..
I came to know that java compiler itself is written in Java language. If i am wright then please tell me what is the compiler used to compile and produce *"javac"* executable file.

Answer 1

ejp wrote:
Originally, i.e. in about 1994, there had to be a compiler written in another language, probably C++, but that would have been dropped immediately there was a working Java version.Just for the record: IBM produced a Java compiler written in C++, called Jikes. It was a very active project and actively used in many places. It was the fastest Java compiler there was at the time (remember: JVMs weren't always as optimized as they are these days), which made it the primary compiler for many developers. At some point, however the Java compilers written in Java started to get as fast as Jikes (at least partially because the JVM got faster) and the advantage of Jikes was reduced. These days I hardly ever see Jikes used in actual development.
Also, don't confuse Jikes with the [Jikes RVM|http://jikesrvm.org/], which is a Java virtual machine written in Java. So to summarize: Projects containing "Jikes" in their name seem to focus on implementing Java-related infrastructure parts using the "wrong" language.
Edited by: JoachimSauer on Jul 8, 2010 10:30 AM