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{"name":"MicroVM","tagline":"The Micro Virtual Machine Project","body":"A large fraction of today’s software is written in //managed languages//. These languages increase software productivity by offering rich abstractions for managing memory, executing code concurrently, and hiding the complexity of modern hardware. Examples include JavaScript, PHP, Objective-C, Java, C#, Python, and Ruby. These languages are economically important. Unfortunately, most of these languages are inefficient, imposing overheads as large as a factor of fifty compared to orthodox language choices such as C.\r\n\r\nThe project will define, develop, evaluate, and refine the essential components of a new foundation layer for managed language implementation. In doing so, it will address a key source of systemic inefficiency, by pioneering the //micro virtual machine// (μVM) as an efficient high-performance substrate for managed language implementation. The relationship between a μVM and existing managed language implementations is analogous to the one between an operating system micro kernel and monolithic operating systems such as Linux. A μVM captures the insight that there exists a well-defined foundation common to most modern languages that can take responsibility for fundamental abstractions over hardware, concurrency, and memory. By isolating and exposing this substrate, a μVM embodies state-of-the-art base technology available to language implementers while isolating them from the pernicious complexities of these abstractions, freeing them to focus on all-important language-specific optimizations. This project will enable more efficient software and a distinctly sharper focus for language implementation research and development.","google":"","note":"Don't delete this file! It's used internally to help with page regeneration."}