A virtual machine instruction set is the collection of fundamental operations that a specific virtual machine is designed to understand and execute. These instructions form the low-level language that smart contracts or other programs are compiled into. The instruction set defines the capabilities and architecture of the virtual execution environment. It acts as the interface between compiled code and the virtual machine’s processing logic.
Context
The design of a virtual machine instruction set is critical for the security, efficiency, and expressiveness of smart contract platforms on blockchains. For example, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) has its own instruction set that dictates how smart contracts operate. Innovations in instruction set design aim to optimize gas costs, improve execution speed, and enhance cryptographic capabilities. The evolution of these sets directly impacts the functionality and scalability of decentralized applications.
ZK-VMs decouple computation from cryptographic proof generation, creating a universal compiler for verifiable execution that drastically scales layer two throughput.
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