So here:
Even if there is no ambiguity and you reference WidgetId, as a wildcard

import com.zikzak.db.*;
…code…
//javac: won’t find the package //com.zikzak.db even if correctly written in //the javac -classpath methodology
WidgetId = new WidgetId();//FAILS

this will not compile(used javac -classpath properly).
I am able to use 2 workarounds(still not using JAR methodology):

1) You must restate the import as
import com.zikzak.db.WidgetId;
WidgetId = new WidgetId();//works

OR explicitly in the instantiation declaration, as:

2. //doesn’t make a difference now, if you //import it or not
com.zikzak.db.WidgetId =
new com.zikzak.db.WidgetId();

I am compiling using the java compiler javac -classpath switch and it rejects any wildcard references to properly packaged up user defined class files, unless I did one of the above workarounds. The fact that these code workarounds actually work, is sufficient to let you know, there’s nothing wrong with my syntax of using the javac -classpath switch as they work, the moment I explicitly put the imports in the source code. Unfortunately, that also means you can’t use wild cards, on several classes belonging to your user defined package.