JAVA: What is the Method Area?

Inside a Java virtual machine instance, information about loaded types is stored in a logical area of memory called the method area. When the Java virtual machine loads a type, it uses a class loader to locate the appropriate class file. The class loader reads in the class file--a linear stream of binary data--and passes it to the virtual machine. The virtual machine extracts information about the type from the binary data and stores the information in the method area. Memory for class (static) variables declared in the class is also taken from the method area.

ie. For each object loaded, there is a method table created.