Recursive import Java

Question

I am a newbie to Java development. I have a quick question regarding recursive imports in Java.

Lets assume Package \"pkg\" contains the following

• clas

Answer 1

Your question is poorly phrased, because if you import pkg.*, you certainly are allowed to then import classes from packages pkg.B and pkg.C. That is, it is perfectly fine to do this:

import pkg.*;
import pkg.B.*;
import pkg.C.*;

But I assume that what you really are asking is why, if you import pkg.* it does not automatically import the types declared in the subpackages of pkg. To answer that, it's best to turn to the Java Language Specification:

The hierarchical naming structure for packages is intended to be convenient for organizing related packages in a conventional manner, but has no significance in itself other than the prohibition against a package having a subpackage with the same simple name as a top level type (§7.6) declared in that package.

_{For example, there is no special access relationship between a package named oliver and another package named oliver.twist, or between packages named evelyn.wood and evelyn.waugh. That is, the code in a package named oliver.twist has no better access to the types declared within package oliver than code in any other package.}

In other words, when you import pkg.*, you are importing all the top-level types defined by the compilation units contained in the package named pkg, but you are not importing any of the sub-packages of pkg (such as pkg.B or pkg.C).