making a java package in the command line

Question

Though it's probably reccomended one uses and IDE for coding advanced java projects, I personally prefer running almost entirely command-line (using gedit as a text-editor). So please don't just tell me "Just use eclipse!" or something :P

My question is what the method of creating a package in java is by a command.

I'm not talking about packaging an application that runs in the command line, I'm talking about making a package in the command line. Am I making a text file? Am I making a directory?

Relatedly, how does one link to related libs and natives without use of an IDE?

I know I'm being really awkward here, but I really prefer the control one gets working in command line.

Answer 1

There are three parts to it: (1) create directory structure; (2) indicate package in java file; (3) compile it.

For example, if you want to create package com.mycompany.myproject, then you need to start in the base directory for your project and then:

(1) create directory com/mycompany/myproject

(2) create java files in that directory, stating package com.mycompany.myproject in them;

(3) compile the files, for example, with javac -cp . com/mycompany/myproject/*.java

You may want to specify a different output directory so as to not mix sources and compiled classes.

If you need to use external libraries (.jar files) to compile, then you need to use -cp or -classpath command-line parameter to javac tool to specify them, e.g.

javac -cp .:some_library.jar:lib/another_library.java com/mycompany/myproject/*.java

It may be a good idea to put all external libraries in one place, e.g. lib subdirectory of your main project directory. And, by the way, the above javac command assumes unix-like environment. If you're on Windows, then you'll need to use ; for path separation.