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Managing Source and Class Files

Many implementations of the Java platform rely on hierarchical file systems to manage source and class files, although The Java Language Specification does not require this. The strategy is as follows.

You put the source code for a class, interface, enum or annotation in a text file whose name is the simple name of the type and whose extension is .java. Then you put the source file in a directory whose name reflects the name of the package to which the type belongs. For example, the source code for the Rectangle class would be in a file named Rectangle.java, and the file would be in a directory named graphics. The graphics directory might be anywhere on the file system. The figure below shows how this works.

The qualified name of the package member and the path name to the file are parallel, assuming the Microsoft Windows file name separator backslash (\):

class name	graphics.Rectangle
pathname to file	graphics\Rectangle.java

As you may recall, by convention a company uses its reversed Internet domain name in its package names. The sample company whose Internet domain name is hobnob.com would precede all its package names with com.hobnob. Each component of the package name corresponds to a subdirectory. So if Hobnob had a graphics package that contained a Rectangle.java source file, it would be contained in a series of subdirectories, as shown below.

When you compile a source file, the compiler creates a different output file for each class and interface defined in it. The base name of the output file is the name of the class or the interface, and its extension is .class, as shown in the following figure.

Like a .java file, a .class file should also be in a series of directories that reflect the package name. However, it does not have to be in the same directory as its source. You could arrange your source and class directories separately, as shown below.

By doing this, you can give the classes directory to other programmers without revealing your sources. You can then use the -d option for the Java compiler to specify where the class files should go, like this:

javac -d classes  sources\com\hobnob\graphics\Rectangle.java

Why all the bother about directories and file names? You need to manage your source and class files in this manner so that the compiler and the Java virtual machine (JVM) can find all the types your program uses. When the compiler encounters a new class as it's compiling your program, it must be able to find the class so as to resolve names, do type checking, and so on. Similarly, when the JVM encounters a new class as it's running your program, it must be able to find the class to invoke its methods, and so on. Both the compiler and the JVM searches for classes in each directory or JAR file listed in your class path.

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Definition: A class path is an ordered list of directories or JAR files in which to search for class files.

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Each directory listed in the class path is a top-level directory in which package directories appear. From the top-level directory, the compiler and the JVM can construct the rest of the path, based on the package and the class name for the class. For example, the class path entry for the directory structure shown in the previous diagram would include classes but not com or any of the directories below com. Both the compiler and the JVM construct the path name to a .class file with its full package name.

By default, the compiler and the JVM search the current directory and the JAR file containing the Java platform class files. In other words, the current directory and the Java platform class files are automatically in your class path. Most, if not all, classes can be found in these two locations. So its likely that you don't have to worry about your class path. In some cases, however, you might have to set your class path.

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