Classpath

Java

Classpath is a parameter in the Java Virtual Machine or the Java compiler that specifies the location of user-defined classes and packages. The parameter may set either on the command-line, or through an environment variable

Setting the path to execute Java programs

Supplying as application argument

Suppose we have a package called org.mypackage containing the classes:

• HelloWorld (main class)
• SupportClass
• UtilClass

and the files defining this package are stored physically under the directory D:\myprogram (on Windows) or /home/user/myprogram (on Linux).
The file structure looks like this:

Microsoft Windows	Linux
D:\myprogram\ | ---> org\ | ---> mypackage\ | ---> HelloWorld.class ---> SupportClass.class ---> UtilClass.class	/home/user/myprogram/ | ---> org/ | ---> mypackage/ | ---> HelloWorld.class ---> SupportClass.class ---> UtilClass.class

When we invoke Java, we specify the name of the application to run: org.mypackage.HelloWorld. However we must also tell Java where to look for the files and directories defining our package. So to launch the program, we use the following command:

Microsoft Windows	Linux
java -classpath D:\myprogram org.mypackage.HelloWorld	java -cp /home/user/myprogram org.mypackage.HelloWorld

where:

• java is a java application launcher, a type of sdkTool(A command-line tool, such as javac, javadoc, or apt)
• -classpath D:\myprogram sets the path to the packages used in the program (on Linux, -cp /home/user/myprogram) and
• org.mypackage.HelloWorld is the name of the main class

Setting the path through an environment variable

The environment variable named CLASSPATH may be alternatively used to set the classpath. For the above example, we could also use on Windows:

set CLASSPATH=D:\myprogram
java org.mypackage.HelloWorld

The rule is that -classpath option, when used to start the java application, overrides the CLASSPATH environment variable. If none are specified, the current working directory is used as classpath. This means that when our working directory is D:\myprogram\ (on Linux, /home/user/myprogram/), we would not need to specify the classpath explicitly. When overriding however, it is advised to include current folder "." into the classpath in the case when loading classes from current folder is desired.
The same applies not only to java launcher but also to javac, the java compiler.

Setting the path of a Jar file

If a program uses a supporting library enclosed in a Jar file called supportLib.jar, physically in the directory D:\myprogram\lib\ and the corresponding physical file structure is:

D:\myprogram\
      |

      ---> lib\

            |
            ---> supportLib.jar
      |
      ---> org\
            |
            --> mypackage\
                       |
                       ---> HelloWorld.class
                       ---> SupportClass.class
                       ---> UtilClass.class

the following command-line option is needed:

java -classpath D:\myprogram;D:\myprogram\lib\supportLib.jar org.mypackage.HelloWorld

or alternatively:

set CLASSPATH=D:\myprogram;D:\myprogram\lib\supportLib.jar
java org.mypackage.HelloWorld

Adding all JAR files in a directory

In Java 6 and higher, one can add all jar-files in a specific directory to the classpath using wildcard notation.

Windows example:

java -classpath ".;c:\mylib\*" MyApp

Linux example:

java -classpath '.:/mylib/*' MyApp

This works for both -classpath options and environment classpaths.