Package objects contain version information
about the implementation and specification of a Java package.
This versioning information is retrieved and made available
by the ClassLoader instance that
loaded the class(es). Typically, it is stored in the manifest that is
distributed with the classes.
The set of classes that make up the package may implement a
particular specification and if so the specification title, version number,
and vendor strings identify that specification.
An application can ask if the package is
compatible with a particular version, see the
method for details.
isCompatibleWith(java.lang.String)
Specification version numbers use a syntax that consists of nonnegative decimal integers separated by periods ".", for example "2.0" or "1.2.3.4.5.6.7". This allows an extensible number to be used to represent major, minor, micro, etc. versions. The version specification is described by the following formal grammar:
- SpecificationVersion:
- Digits RefinedVersionopt
- RefinedVersion:
.Digits.Digits RefinedVersion- Digits:
- Digit
- Digits
- Digit:
- any character for which
returnsCharacter.isDigit(char)true, e.g. 0, 1, 2, ...
The implementation title, version, and vendor strings identify an implementation and are made available conveniently to enable accurate reporting of the packages involved when a problem occurs. The contents all three implementation strings are vendor specific. The implementation version strings have no specified syntax and should only be compared for equality with desired version identifiers.
Within each ClassLoader instance all classes from the same
java package have the same Package object. The static methods allow a package
to be found by name or the set of all packages known to the current class
loader to be found.
Version numbers are compared by sequentially comparing corresponding components of the desired and specification strings. Each component is converted as a decimal integer and the values compared. If the specification value is greater than the desired value true is returned. If the value is less false is returned. If the values are equal the period is skipped and the next pair of components is compared.
desired the version string of the desired version.NumberFormatException if the desired or current version
is not of the correct dotted form.ClassLoader instance.
The callers ClassLoader instance is used to find the package
instance corresponding to the named class. If the callers
ClassLoader instance is null then the set of packages loaded
by the system ClassLoader instance is searched to find the
named package. Packages have attributes for versions and specifications only if the class loader created the package instance with the appropriate attributes. Typically, those attributes are defined in the manifests that accompany the classes.
name a package name, for example, java.lang.ClassLoader
instance. Those packages correspond to classes loaded via or accessible by
name to that ClassLoader instance. If the caller's
ClassLoader instance is the bootstrap ClassLoader
instance, which may be represented by null in some implementations,
only packages corresponding to classes loaded by the bootstrap
ClassLoader instance will be returned.
ClassLoader
instance. An zero length array is returned if none are known.null in some implementations, then the set of packages
loaded by the bootstrap class loader is searched to find the package.
Packages have attributes for versions and specifications only if the class loader created the package instance with the appropriate attributes. Typically those attributes are defined in the manifests that accompany the classes.
class the class to get the package of.pkgName the name of the packagespectitle the title of the specificationspecversion the version of the specificationspecvendor the organization that maintains the specificationimpltitle the title of the implementationimplversion the version of the implementationimplvendor the organization that maintains the implementation