The IEEE 754 standard distinguishes between signaling and quiet NaNs. When executing floating point operations, some processors silently convert signaling NaNs to quiet NaNs. The 32-bit x86 version of the HotSpot JVM allows silent conversions to happen. With JVM releases preceding JDK 9, silent conversions happen depending on whether the floating point operations are part of compiled or interpreted code. With the JDK 9 release, interpreted and compiled code behaves consistently with respect to signaling and quiet NaNs.