At the source and binary levels, Java is considered platform-independent since it can be run on any device or operating system that has the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) installed. Java source code is translated into bytecode, which is a platform-independent instruction set, by the Java compiler. The JVM then interprets or compiles this bytecode at runtime, converting it into native machine code customized to the unique hardware architecture and operating system, allowing Java programs to execute flawlessly across several contexts.