In Java, each class that is public should be declared in its own file with the filename matching the class name. Moreover, the package structure is typically mirrored by the filesystem, so classes declared in different packages should reside in different directories.
However, you can declare multiple classes within a single file under the following conditions:
- Non-Public Classes: You can have one public class and multiple non-public classes in the same file. The non-public classes wonât be accessible from classes in other packages.
- Inner Classes: You can declare inner classes within a public class, and these can be public, protected, package-private, or private.
- Local Classes: You can declare classes within a block scope, such as within a method. These are not accessible outside the block.
- Anonymous Classes: You can declare and instantiate anonymous classes within any block of code.
But there is no way to declare multiple classes in a single file and have them reside in different packages. Each package is associated with a directory structure. So, if you want classes to be in different packages, they must be in separate files and directories corresponding to their package names.
For example:
// File located in src/myapp/util/UtilityClass.java
package myapp.util;
public class UtilityClass {
// ...
}
// This non-public class can be in the same file as UtilityClass
class HelperClass {
// ...
}
And another class in a different package would be in a different file:
// File located in src/myapp/models/DataModel.java
package myapp.models;
public class DataModel {
// ...
}
Each public class should be in a file named after the class and in a directory structure that matches its package name. The `src/myapp/util/` and `src/myapp/models/` paths correspond to the `myapp.util` and `myapp.models` packages, respectively. Non-public classes can be in any of these files but are only accessible within the same package.