Big Java, 4th Edition

Appendix G. Tool Summary

In this summary, we use a monospaced font for actual commands such as javac. An italic font denotes descriptions of tool command components such as options. Items enclosed in brackets [...] are optional. Items separated by vertical bars | are alternatives. Do not include the brackets or vertical bars when typing the commands.

The Java Compiler

javac [options] sourceFile1|@fileList1 sourceFile2|@fileList2 ...

A file list is a text file that contains one file name per line. For example,

File Greeting.list

1  Greeting.java
2  GreetingTest.java

Then you can compile all files with the command

javac @Greeting.list

The Java compiler options are summarized in Table 1.

Table G.1. Common Compiler Options

Option	Description
-classpath locations or -cp locations	The compiler is to look for classes on this path, overriding the CLASSPATH environment variable. If neither is specified, the current directory is used. Each location is a directory, JAR file, or ZIP file. Locations are separated by a platform-dependent separator (: on Unix, ; on Windows).
-sourcepath locations	The compiler is to look for source files on this path. If not specified, source files are searched in the class path.
-d directory	The compiler places files into the specified directory.
-g	Generate debugging information.
-verbose	Include information about all classes that are being compiled (useful for troubleshooting).
-deprecation	Give detailed information about the usage of deprecated messages.
-Xlint: errorType	Carry out additional ...