A package in Java is a mechanism to group related classes, interfaces, and sub-packages into a single unit. Packages help organize large applications, avoid naming conflicts, provide access protection, and make code modular and maintainable.
- Avoiding name conflicts (two classes with the same name can exist in different packages)
- Providing access control using public, protected, and default access
- Reusability: packaged code can be imported and used anywhere
- Encouraging modular programming