Question

Here’s the code :

public class EmployeeTest
{
    public static void main(String args[]){
    //System.out.println("hello world");

    Employee aEmployee = new Employee("David",1000);
    System.out.println(aEmployee.getName() + aEmployee.getSalary());
    }
}

class Employee // **why can't I put a "public" here**
{
    // Constructor
    public Employee(String name, double salary)
    {
        this.name = name;
        this.salary = salary;
    }

    // Methods
    public String getName()
    {
        return this.name;
    }

    public double getSalary()
    {
        return this.salary;
    }

    // instance field
    private String name;
    private double salary;
}

My question is : in the second class definition’s first line, why can’t I put a “public” to define it ?
What’s the exactly meaning of “public” when using it defines a class ?

Answer 1

This is language feature. There must be only one top-level public class per .java file and public class name must match the source java file name.

Basically, non-public types are not accessible outside the package so if you wish to allow type to be used anywhere then make it public.

Never create a type in default package. (Always use package)

Employee.java

---

package com.abc.model;

public class Employee{..}

EmployeeTest.java

---

package com.abc.test;

public class EmployeeTest{ ... }