Re: multiple source files
conrad wrote:
Could someone point me in the right direction
in how one should compile a program in
java with multiple source files? In C, or
C++ I would have separate translation units
that serve some particular purpose.
I would then compile those translation
units into object files and then supply
all the object files to the compiler
to generate a single output file.
One of my translation units would have
main in it. Now, I'm wondering how this
is approached in java because I really don't
want a single class with many unrelated
methods.
Java works almost the same way.
Source files (translation units) are .java files. They are complied to
..class files by the compiler.
You can do this any way you like. On the command line or with the
"make" utility would work fine. IDEs are easier, check out NetBeans.
There is a newer snazzier version of "make" called Ant that is better
for Java, check it out.
After you get the .class files, you link the .class files into larger
execution units called .jar files. .jar files can have additional items
besides .class files. They can also hold plain old data files (.txt,
binary, etc.) which can be then accessed as a "resource" by the .jar.
There are also special data files called resource bundles which have
special support.
Finally, there's something vaguely akin to C++ namespaces called
"packages." They're a little funky. They have language access support
(like friend classes in C++) and they also have a special directory
structure. It's pretty easy to get around their access support though,
you don't even need source code. A bit of an honor system.
The posts above cover all this stuff a bit better. This is the simple,
sorta kinda korrect missive that tries to get you the big picture in one
easy to digest post.
Good luck.