8191170: Clarify if java.class.path can be undefined
Reviewed-by: alanb, psandoz
diff --git a/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/ClassLoader.java b/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/ClassLoader.java
index c18a9ad..43d8db8 100644
--- a/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/ClassLoader.java
+++ b/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/ClassLoader.java
@@ -1876,14 +1876,15 @@
* value until the system is fully initialized.
*
* <p> The name of the built-in system class loader is {@code "app"}.
- * The class path used by the built-in system class loader is determined
- * by the system property "{@code java.class.path}" during early
- * initialization of the VM. If the system property is not defined,
- * or its value is an empty string, then there is no class path
- * when the initial module is a module on the application module path,
- * i.e. <em>a named module</em>. If the initial module is not on
- * the application module path then the class path defaults to
- * the current working directory.
+ * The system property "{@code java.class.path}" is read during early
+ * initialization of the VM to determine the class path.
+ * An empty value of "{@code java.class.path}" property is interpreted
+ * differently depending on whether the initial module (the module
+ * containing the main class) is named or unnamed:
+ * If named, the built-in system class loader will have no class path and
+ * will search for classes and resources using the application module path;
+ * otherwise, if unnamed, it will set the class path to the current
+ * working directory.
*
* @return The system {@code ClassLoader}
*
diff --git a/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/System.java b/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/System.java
index 04c98ca..2471d8e 100644
--- a/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/System.java
+++ b/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/System.java
@@ -631,7 +631,8 @@
* <tr><th scope="row"><code>java.class.version</code></th>
* <td>Java class format version number</td></tr>
* <tr><th scope="row"><code>java.class.path</code></th>
- * <td>Java class path</td></tr>
+ * <td>Java class path (refer to
+ * {@link ClassLoader#getSystemClassLoader()} for details)</td></tr>
* <tr><th scope="row"><code>java.library.path</code></th>
* <td>List of paths to search when loading libraries</td></tr>
* <tr><th scope="row"><code>java.io.tmpdir</code></th>
