title: Is Java platform Independent or Operating System Independent?
body: <p>I'm confused about the topic of platform or OS independence.</p>
  
  <p>Doesn't "independent" imply that Java code should run on any machine and need no special software to be installed? Yet the JVM needs to be present in the machine.</p>
  
  <p>For example, we need to have the Turbo C Compiler in order to compile C/C++ source code and then execute it. The machine has to have the C compiler.</p>
  
  <p>Could somebody please what is meant when Java is described as "platform independent" or "OS independent"? </p>