Name: krT82822 Date: 04/20/99


According to the javac documentation and my experience, for each
file javac is given to compile, it checks whether the source code
of anything that file references has changed, and recompiles
that source code if it has. The documentation is not clear about
how recursive this is. My experience (on Windows) shows that only
the immediately referenced files are checked. However, if those
files are recompiled, then anything that those files reference is
also checked. So it is recursive as long as it keeps recompiling.

Please can this behaviour be clarified in the javac
documentation. I also suggest a RFE that javac should recursively
search all referenced classes for any source code changes. This
would enable an entire application rebuild by giving javac only
the entry point class(es). This currently works only if all
classes need recompiling (e.g. if there are no class files), and
is incredibly useful.
(Review ID: 57212)
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