Problem importing a package

Question

Hello all! I'm relatively new to Java programming, but an experienced programmer in other languages, which is why this problem is so disturbing.
I'm running through an exercise in the Thinking in Java book that introduces you to packages and importing packages. The code runs fine if I explicitly import the package by name, but not if I use the "*" wildcard.
I'm running on Windows NT, and my CLASSPATH variable is:
CLASSPATH=.;D:\Java\Books
Here are the programs that work:
//P.java
package tools;
public class P {
  public static void rint(String s) {
    System.out.print(s);
  public static void rint(int i) {
       System.out.print(i);
  public static void rintln(String s) {
    System.out.println(s);
  public static void rintln(int i) {
       System.out.println(i);
//PrintTest.java
import tools.*;
public class PrintTest {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
       P.rint("Test String print - No line feed...");
       P.rintln("---");
       P.rint(1);
       P.rintln("");  //Force line feed.
       P.rintln(2);
       P.rintln("---");
}Both of these files reside in the D:\test directory, and I compile them from that directory.
To compile the P.java program, I use the following statement: javac -d . P.java
The P.class file ends up in the D:\test\tools directory, which is fine. When I try to compile the PrintTest.java file, I get an error for each reference to the P class as follows:
PrintTest.java:6: cannot resolve symbol
symbol: method rint (java.lang.String)
location: class P
P.rint("Test string print - No line feed");
However, if I change the first line in the PrintTest.java program to:
import tools.P;
Then it works.
Why is the import working with an explicit call to the class, but not with the "*" wildcard? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've been through all of the forums, the documentation, etc. and can't find a definitive answer.
Thanks in advance,
Tim

Answer 1

Here is the error that I'm getting when I compile the PrintTest.java file.
PrintTest.java:6: cannot resolve symbol
symbol: method rint (java.lang.String)
location: class P
P.rint("Test string print - No line feed");
Actually, I get one error for each reference to the P class in the PrintTest code, so there are 6 errors total.
The P.class file is in the \tools directory under the directory where the PrintTest.java file exists, so the "import tools.P;" command works and the file runs OK, but when I switch to the "import tools.*" command, I get these errors. I'm just confused as to why it works when it is explicitly imported, but not when it is wild-carded.
Thanks for the help! I'll keep trying...