Compiling with classes in seperate directories

Question

Hey guys,
I wish to compile my program like this:
./program/src <---- for the .java files
./program/classes/ <---- for the main class
./program/classes/mainLib/ <--- for all other class files.
Am i right in thinking that this would be a package thing. So i would have to alter the package line in the programs to get this to work?
So the main class would have:
package classes;
and the rest would have:
package classes.mainLib;
I'm just having a bit of trouble compiling it successfully.

Answer 1

So from what i understand. I should compile itfrom
the source directory using something like this:
javac -cp ../classes/mainLib -d ../classes *.javaAlmost; the top level classpath is located at
../classes; all .class files can be
found in there or in subdirectories (reflecting the
package names) thereof.
You see i want one of my classes to go here:./classes
That should be a class without a package definition
then, i.e. the default package.
And the rest to end up here: ./classes/mainLibOk, they should all have a 'package mainLib;'
definition at the top.
I want the compiler to do this automatically.
Am i right in thinking this is to do with package.
So if i put this in the file i want to end up onits own:
package classes;Nope, the ../classes directory was the toplevel
directory remember? All sub-
directories under that reflect the package names.
and then:
package classes.mainLib; in all the other files itshoudl work. But do i need to
use any import statements on this?See above: the ../classes directory is the base where
all your .class files can be
found. If a class belongs to the default package, it
can be found directly in this
directory; any .class file in a package 'X' can be
found in ../classes/X.
Just to summarize:
if you don't put a package definition in your source,
the .class file should end up
in the ../classes directory. If you put a 'package
x;' definition in your source, it
should end up in the ../classes/x directory. Your
(-cp) classpath string should
just point to the ../classes directory, i.e. the base
where all your .class files can
be found.
Thanks a lot for your help.You're welcome and,
kind regards,
JosThat was a brilliant description and i fully understand now - thanks!
I'm trying to do it now. All of my files contain: package mainLib, apart from the one i want to end up in the main class directory. So i try this:
gary@linuxbox:~/java/cars/src$ javac -d ../classes/ *.java
./Storage.java:5: duplicate class: mainLib.Storage
class Storage { // used to control the data stored externally
^
Cars.java:16: cannot access Storage
bad class file: ./Storage.java
file does not contain class Storage
Please remove or make sure it appears in the correct subdirectory of the classpath.
                Storage file = new Storage();
                ^
2 errorsThat was run from: ./program name/src
I want the classes to end up in ./program name/classes (where mainLib) is located
So i then tried:
gary@linuxbox:~/java/cars$ javac -d ./classes/ src/*.javThat produced A LOT of errors saying it couldn't find the construcutrs from the classes it needed.
Is it obvious what i am doing wrongly?