Format
Java Class File
Summary
- Name
- Java Class File
- Identifiers
- PUID: x-fmt/415
- Description
- A file containing Java bytecode that can be executed on the Java virtual machine (JVM). A Java class file is usually generated by a Java compiler from a Java programming language source code file. Java is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented general-purpose programming language designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible.
- File extensions
-
class - Source
- Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives
Relationships
- Has priority over
Internal signatures
Java Class File
- Note
- Magic number (first four bytes) of every valid class file is 0xCAFEBABE
Byte sequences
- Min Frag Length
- Absolute from BOF
- Offset
- 0
- Max offset
- None
- Byte Sequence
CAFEBABE- Endianness
- Little-endian
Changelog
-
Updated in V112
- Release date
- 10 May 2023
Java Class File: Updated format and signature names and descriptions. Submitted by Stadtarchiv Hof (Municipal Archives of Hof, Free State of Bavaria, Germany).
-
Updated in V92
- Release date
- 20 September 2017
Java Compiled Object Code: Gave priority over Alias Pix Image File due to rare edge-case clash conditions.