Why 8 basic data types in Java are called basic data types

Some time before the interview, an interviewer asked me 8 kinds of basic data types is what, this is a good answer, and then asked me why these 8 is the basic data type, and other what is different, ask me a face.

Recently read the book "Deep understanding of the characteristics of the JVM," I think I found the answer, the so-called Java basic data type is to let the JVM explicitly know the type at compile time, and then put these basic data types on the stack. The stack can also hold the object's reference, and the heap can hold the object.

Why 8 basic data types in Java are called basic data types