2.3 Java Code, Binaries, and Resources Storage

In the standard Java development environment, Java source code, binaries, and resources are stored as files in a file system, as follows:

• Source code files are saved as .java files.

• Compiled Java binary files are saved as .class files.

• Resources are any data files, such as .properties or .ser files, that are stored in the file system hierarchy and are loaded and used at run time.

In addition, when you run a Java application, you specify the CLASSPATH, which is a file or directory path in the file system that contains your .class files. Java also provides a way to group these files into a single archive form, a ZIP or Java Archive (JAR) file.

Both these concepts are different in Oracle Database environment.

Table 2-1 describes how Oracle Database handles Java classes and locates dependent classes.

Table 2-1 Description of Java Code and Classes Storage in Oracle Database

Tasks	How it differs for Oracle JVM
Storing Java code, binaries, and resources	In Oracle Database, source code, classes, and resources reside within the database and are known as Java schema objects, where a schema corresponds to a database user. There are three types of Java schema objects: source, class, and resource. There are no .java, .class, .sqlj, .properties, or .ser files on the server. Instead, these files map to the appropriate Java schema objects.
Locating Java classes	Instead of the CLASSPATH, you use a resolver to specify one or more schemas to search for Java source, class, and resource schema objects.