Path and Classpath in JAVA

JAVA is a high level programming language based on OOPS ,implemented by Sun MicroSystems.Java applications are typically compiled to bytecode that can run on any Java Virtual Machine(JVM) regardless of computer architecture.

Java is currently one of the most popular programming languages in use, and is widely used from application software to web applications.

Principles

There were five primary goals in the creation of the Java language:^[20]

1. It should be "simple, object oriented, and familiar".
2. It should be "robust and secure".
3. It should be "architecture neutral and portable".
4. It should execute with "high performance".
5. It should be "interpreted, threaded, and dynamic".

What is path and classpath in JAVA

PATH

In JDK the path variable contains directories where binary files (.exe files in Windows ) will be looked for.When we have written a java programs we require some commands to execute source code .As javac for compilation of the code and java for execution.So the path of these files is termed as PATH .

We set the path variable like this ie C:\java\jdk1.6.0_3\bin

There are two ways to set the path .

On command prompt(a temporary way)

C:\>set path =%path;C:\Java\jdk1.6.0_03\bin%

By temporary way means we will set the path for the current command window only .As we close the command window and try compiling the source code then you will get a error message as "Command not Found".

CLASSPATH

In JDK the classpath contains directories or JAR files which your java compiler/runtime will look for .class files .

For example if you have ArrayList class in your source code then it will look for the .class file of the ArrayList class

which will be read from the classpath location.

For setting classpath on command prompt

C:\>set classpath =%classpath;C:\java\jdk1.6.0_03\lib%