How to change the Java VM to support functional programming?

What changes are needed in the Java Virtual Machine to support
first-class functions, continuations, and so forth, so that I can
compile ML or Caml into JVM code? Please be as specific about this as
you can. If you don't know the exact details of the JVM, then just
tell me what facilities in general are needed for this. My current
level of knowledge is low: I'm thinking that what is needed for
continuations is something like what is needed to support co-routines,
i.e. a way of encapsulating the runtime stack in the middle of a
function's execution and then restarting it later. This can be done
by allocating blocks on the heap of what are essentially little
stacks, and then transferring them to the machine stack when needed.
Am I on the right track?


Dwight
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