classpath does not default to current directory

Question

I wrote and compiled a simple Hello World program in Java but when I tried to run it I was greeted with the error message Error: Could not find or load main class Hell

Answer 1

I expect that a CLASSPATH environment variable has been set. Run echo $CLASSPATH to see what it is set to.

If you don't use the -jar option then:

• If there is a -cp, that specifies the classpath
• Else if CLASSPATH is set in the environment, that specifies the classpath
• Else a default classpath of "." is used.