Apache Maven

Maven = A build automation and dependency management tool primarily for Java projects

• It simplifies compiling, packaging, testing, and deploying applications by handling all build steps and external libraries automatically through configuration rather than manual scripting.

• It’s built around the idea of a Project Object Model (POM) — a single XML file (pom.xml) that describes:

  • The project structure and metadata (name, version, etc.)

  • Dependencies (external libraries the project needs)

  • Plugins (tools for compiling, packaging, testing, etc.)

  • Build configurations and lifecycle instructions

POM (Project Object Model)

Every Maven project has a pom.xml.

Example:

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0">

  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

  <groupId>com.example</groupId>

  <artifactId>demo-app</artifactId>

  <version>1.0.0</version>

  <dependencies>

    <!-- Example dependency -->

    <dependency>

      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>

      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>

    </dependency>

  </dependencies>

</project>

Lifecycle

Maven has predefined build lifecycles such as:

• clean → remove old build artifacts

• compile → compile source code

• test → run unit tests

• package → build JAR/WAR files

• install → add the package to your local repository

• deploy → publish to a remote repository

Run these via commands like:

mvn clean package

mvn spring-boot:run

Maven with Java

Maven automatically:

• Downloads Java libraries (dependencies) from central repositories.

• Handles classpath setup.

• Runs compilation, testing, and packaging with standard conventions (like putting Java code in src/main/java).

Maven with Spring Framework

Include Spring dependencies easily:

<dependency>

  <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>

  <artifactId>spring-context</artifactId>

  <version>6.1.0</version>

</dependency>

• Build and package the app into a deployable WAR file.

• Manage multiple Spring modules (like spring-webmvc, spring-jdbc, etc.) automatically, resolving version conflicts.

Maven with Spring Boot

• Spring Boot builds on top of Spring + Maven, and simplifies configuration further.

• Use a starter parent POM:

<parent>

  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>

  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>

  <version>3.3.3</version>

</parent>

• This gives:

  • Managed versions for dependencies (no need to specify versions manually).

  • Common plugin configurations for building and running Boot apps.

• Add starters (pre-bundled dependency sets):

<dependencies>

  <dependency>

    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>

    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>

  </dependency>

</dependencies>

• Run directly using Maven: 

mvn spring-boot:run

• which compiles and launches the embedded server (like Tomcat) automatically.