Junit import using * wildcard

Question

I've noticed that when importing JUnit, the * wildcard doesn't always work.
e.g. for the annotation @Test you must import org.junit.Test since org.junit.* doesn't recognize the annotation.

Is there a reason for this, is it something that needs setting? or just a quirk in the way somethings like JUnit are.

FYI, I am using: Junit 4.6, Intelli-J 8.1.3.

Answer 1

Based on your comment above:

I've copy-pasted it and got "annontation type expected".

it sounds to me like it could be a name collision. Are you importing a class or interface named Test from somewhere else? Is there a class named Test in the same package as the one where you're having the problem? It could be that Java is seeing one of these instead of the annotation.

Answer 2

I'm reading something at http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t369296-p2-disadvantage-of-using-wildcards-in-import-statement.html that suggests that there's an "optimize imports" setting in IntelliJ that might relate to this.

Answer 3

There's no reason I know of why importing org.junit.* wouldn't give you access to org.junit.Test. In fact, I just tried it in Eclipse, and it works there. Perhaps it's a problem with your IDEA workspace?

Answer 4

I had a similar problem today in Eclipse. I made a static import to org.junit.Assert.assertEquals, but a static import of org.junit.Assert.assertThat fails! And they are in the same class!

I'll bet it's an Eclipse bug. I'm using junit 4.4 and eclipse 3.5

Answer 5

I don't do it, but using import org.junit.*; works fine here, the following test turns on a green light:

import static junit.framework.Assert.*;

import org.junit.*;

public class AppTest {
    @Test
    public void testApp() {
        assertTrue(true);
    }
}

Tested with Java 6u16 on the command line, under Eclipse 3.5, under IntelliJ IDEA 9.0 BETA CE. Works everywhere as expected.

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