Image loading via URL with resources in packages

Question

And another newbie-question:
When I want to access local media-files (for example images) in a subdirectory, I can use a url to get a local path/filename. For example:
url = getClass().getResource("/path/image-name.gif");
image = getToolkit().getImage(url);
Now I have packaged my classes including the subdirs containing the images in a jar file.
package.jar
|
-- subdir (with images)
|
-- a.class
|
-- b.class
|
-- x.class
Now the access via url doesn't seem to work any longer. When I subclass "a" outside the package (with correct import-statements, of course) and the constructor of "a" tries to access the images in "subdir" (invoking super()), it cannot find it and an exception occurs.
Is this correct, or does the error lie maybe somewhere else?
I had the impression that a jar-archive can be accessed like a directory? Have I to access the images in another way to get them working inside a package? When the classes and images are not packaged, all works fine.
I work with Sun One, btw., and do mount the jar-archive as a filesystem...
Any advise?
Thanks in advance.
Xanathon

Answer 1

Am I on the right way when using an URLClassLoader instead of getClass()?