A method and apparatus for accelerating program execution in platform-independent systems by eliminating repeated hot spot recognition in virtual machines. Optimization information for programs operable on a target device is stored. It is determined whether stored optimization information exists for a current program available on the target device, and if so, the optimization information associated with the current program is retrieved. The retrieved optimization information is used to identify program code segments earlier identified for optimization processing. Portions of the current program not identified for optimization processing are interpreted via an interpreter, and at substantially the same time, the program code segments identified for optimization processing to native code of the target device are compiled. Using the stored optimization information eliminates the need to analyze the program for program hot spots each time the program is loaded.