Regarding Packages
What is a package ?
Collection of functionally similar classes & interfaces.
Creating user defined packages
Need ?
1. To group functionally similar classes together.
2. Avoids name space collision (allows duplicate class names in different packages)
3. Finer control over access specifiers.
About Packages
1. Creation : package statement has to be placed as the 1st statement in Java
source.
eg : package p1; => the classes will be part of package p1.
2.Package names are mapped to folder names.
eg : package p1; class A{....}
A.class must exist in folder p1.
3. For simplicity --- create folder p1 -- under <src> & compile from <src>
From <src>
javac -d ..\bin p1\A.java
-> javac will auto. create the sub-folder <p1> under the <bin> folder & place
A.class within <p1>
NOTE : Its not mandatory to create java sources(.java) under package named folder.
BUT its mandatory to store packged compiled classes(.class) under package named
folders
Earlier half is just maintained as convenience(eg --- javac can then detect auto.
dependencies & compile classes ).
3.5 How to launch / run packaged java classes?
cd <bin>
java FullyQualifiedClassName
java p1.A
4. To run the pkged classes from any folder : you must set Java specific
environment variable : classpath
set classpath=g:\dac1\day2\bin;
classpath= Java only environment variable
Used mainly by JRE's classloader : to locate & load the classes.
Classloader will try to locate the classes from current folder, if not found ---
will refer to classpath entries : to resolve & load Java classes.
What should be value of classpath ---Must be set to top of packged class
hierarchy(eg : bin)
set classpath=d:\dac\day2\bin;.;(cmd line invocation)
OR better still
set it from environment variables.
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Rules
1. If the class is part of a package, the package statement must be the first line
in the source code file, before any import statements that may be present.
2. If there are import statements, they must go between the package statement
(if there is one) and the class declaration. If there isn't a package statement,
then the import statement(s) must be the first line(s) in the source code file.
If there are no package or import statements, the class declaration must be
the first line in the source code file.
3. import and package statements apply to all classes within a source code file.
In other words, there's no way to declare multiple classes in a file and have
them in different packages, or use different imports.
---------------------------
NOTE : Setting classpath on all platforms
Refer :
https://www.javacodestuffs.com/2020/09/how-to-set-classpath-in-java-
windows.html#:~:text=%20How%20to%20set%20classpath%20in%20Java%20-,is%20one%20way
%20to%20tell%20applications%2C...%20More%20
OR
https://www.edureka.co/blog/set-Java-classpath/
