Java import wildcard accessibility for nested static classes

Question

How does the java accessibility (or perhaps, scope) work with respect to type import multi-level nested classes? An example:

ClassA.java:

package com.oracle.javatests;

public class ClassA {

    public static class NestedAA {
        public void printSomething() {
            System.out.println("inside " + this.getClass().getName());
        }
        
        public static class NestedAB{
            public void printSomethingAB() {
                System.out.println("inside " + this.getClass().getName());  
            }
        }
    }
    
    public void printSomething() {
        System.out.println("inside " + this.getClass().getName());
    }
}

Main.java

package com.oracle.javatests;

import com.oracle.javatests.ClassA.*;
// import com.oracle.javatests.ClassA.NestedAA.*; // Adding this will resolve NestedAB

public class Main {

    public static void main (String[] args){
        ClassA objA = new ClassA();
        objA.printSomething();
        
        NestedAA nestedAA = new NestedAA(); // Ok
        NestedAB nestedAB = new NestedAB(); // Compiler error- NestedAB cannot be resolved to a type
    }
}

The import statement does not import NestedAB type when using wildcards. A perhaps similar question led me to the java spec sheet which clarifies Type-Import-on-Demand Declarations :

A type-import-on-demand declaration allows all accessible types of a named package or type to be imported as needed.

The accepted answer to the question implies that the on demand import declarations are not recursive. The reasoning is perhaps what Java considers "all accessible types of a named type", and the general concept of packages but I am falling short of connecting the dots and understand what accessible types means with respect to nested classes.

Can please anyone help explain how the type import and accessibility seem to work in java (while ignoring the arguable use of wildcard imports)

Answer 1

It's not heard to understand. import static com.foo.bar.*; is the exact same thing as import static com.foo.bar.[everything you can imagine here but without dots].

In other words, in your example, with import static pkg.ClassA.*; you can just write NestedAA without qualifiers and that works, because import static pkg.ClassA.NestedAA; would have made that work just the same.

You cannot write NestedAB unqualified and expect that to work; there is nothing you could possibly write instead of a * (which doesn't include dots) that would make that work, therefore, a star import doesn't make it work either.