Obscure Java import syntax?
import, java, syntax
Solution
Having looked at the latest JLS (http://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jls/se7/html/jls-7.html#jls-7.5.1), it says:
Example 7.5.1-3. No Import of a Subpackage
Note that an import statement cannot import a subpackage, only a type.
For example, it does not work to try to import java.util and then use the name util.Random to refer to the type java.util.Random:
import java.util; // incorrect: compile-time error
class Test { util.Random generator; }
There is no reason that the language designers are using a different version of Java. They may have some secret tools for coding and testing, they might also test on some new features (but I don't think this is a new feature, as new features shouldn't be released like this without any description)
I believe it is the HTML formatting that automatically eliminates all the `.*` parts of import declarations.
Problem
I've come across obscure `import` syntax while looking at some source code from Sun's JVM implementation. ``` import java.awt; ``` From a look at the source code, this `import` statement appears to be importing the entire `java.awt` package, but the standard is to use a package wildcard: `import java.awt.*;`. However, the syntax of the `import` statement in `ComponentFactory` is invalid and does not compile with JDK or Eclipse. Why would Java developers use this uncompilable syntax used, rather than the correct `.*` syntax? (Maybe the developers use a different compiler which supports this syntax?)