Javac in 8u20 reports errors 8u11 does not

Question

The following builds with 8u11, but not 8u20.  I think this ultimately found a logic error in the code I was working on that had been lingering there for years, but I just want to confirm that this is not a compiler issue.
public class A  {
  public static class B {
    private int stuff;
  private final B [] things;
  public A(boolean b, B ... things) {
    super();
    if (b && this.things == null) { // error reported against 'things' on this line
      this.things = new B[] { };
    } else {
      this.things = things;
I believe the original intention was to check the parameter "things" not the field "this.things" anyway.. but I found it interesting that the code didn't report any issues until 8u20.

Answer 1

nope, the doc for javac clearly says:
"If the -sourcepath option is not specified, the user
class path is searched for source files as well as
class files. "
(see
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/tooldocs/windows/ja
ac.html#options)Yes but this is in reference to dependent classes, as the page you referenced explains.
The basic format of javac isjavac source_fileIf the source file needs other user classes, then the classpath is searched for either .class files or .java files.