We've seen that the new Java 9 platform comes with some new abilities to do module level compilation and execution using the --module-source-path
and the --module-path
arguments. It is now module-aware and knows what to do in order to compile and execute Java 9 modules. It's very likely that these flags are going to find increased usage as developers embrace Java modularity.
At the same time, there's a familiar compiler parameter that will, over time, see decreased usage--the -classpath
parameter. The classpath that has been a concept that's essential to programming in Java for so many years, is for the most part, not required anymore!
For about two decades now, the Java classpath has played the crucial role of being the home for all the classes in any given Java application. Any Java application is obviously made up of multiple classes, often in multiple jar files. As a Java developer, all you had to do to get a class into play was to add it to the classpath. That would...