what happens at Java interpreter level when IncompatibleClassChangeError is thrown?

Question

I am a noob at JVM internals.

Can someone explain what happens at Java interpreter level when IncompatibleClassChangeError is thrown?

I am facing an issue similar to the one described here: https://bugs.openjdk.java.net/browse/JDK-4171827 but having a hard time understanding this comment(quoted from the same page):

This is actually a bug in the interpreter's handling of IncompatibleClassChangeError. The bug is that the logic that checks for invoking a method on a null object, which results in a NullPointerException, is executed before the logic that checks for IncompatibleClassChangeError. In the case of a non-static method becoming static this will cause the interpreter to read a value of the stack which isn't guaranteed to be valid. In this test case it reads a value one above the top of stack which may or may not have a valid value in it. If you modify the test slightly to push a couple nulls and then pop them off before doing the invocation, the test will fail on every vm JavaSoft has shipped. Here's the modified test...

Answer 1

I may say that the issue isn't fixed but is closed as non-reproducible.

Yes but I still couldnt understand this line: " In the case of a non-static method becoming static this will cause the interpreter to read a value of the stack which isn't guaranteed to be valid."

Most likely the point is that in the case of static method top cell of the stack is ignored when the method is invoked and may contain null (or undefined value). In the case of non-static method the top cell contains this reference.

Can someone explain what happens at Java interpreter level when IncompatibleClassChangeError is thrown?

I'd refer you to the answer.