Package name semantics

[Alex Buckley]

On 5/23/2017 1:04 PM, Stephan Herrmann wrote:
> The 2017-05-18 update of JLS 6.5.3.2 introduces the concept of
> unique visibility, but still has this unchanged sentence:
>
> "The package name Q.Id names a package that is the member named Id
>    within the package named by Q."
>
> If "the" in "the member named Id" is to be taken literally, then
> the specification still doesn't work, as I may elaborate if needed.
> But I assume, dropping "the" in favor of "a" or a similar change
> easily fixes this to reflect the intention, right?

The full text is:

-----
If a package name is of the form Q.Id, then Q must also be a package 
name. The package name Q.Id names a package that is the member named Id 
within the package named by Q.

[DELETED]If Q does not name an observable package (§7.4.3), or Id is not 
the simple name of an observable subpackage of that package, then a 
compile-time error occurs.[/DELETED]

[ADDED]If Q.Id does not name a package that is uniquely visible to the 
current module (§7.4.3), then a compile-time error occurs.[/ADDED]
-----

The editorial style of this section has historically been rather odd, 
because the first paragraph makes assertions that are true only if the 
second paragraph's compile-time error doesn't occur. I have continued 
with that style in JLS9: the first paragraph can say "_the_ member named 
Id" because the second paragraph assures a unique Q.Id.

Alex