Maven only has 20 FAQs on its page here. I’ve been working with it on a project recently, and frankly I had plenty more than 20 to ask. Here’s my list of a few things that I hope will help people when they’re searching for answers not described well in the Maven documentation.
How do I get a plain file (*.txt) included into my deployment file (i.e. jar, war, ear)?
Maven’s default file structure looks like ${projectBase}/src/main. The compile target looks for production code under ${projectBase}/src/main/java. It looks for other files to include with your production deployment in ${projectBase}/src/main/resources. Adding your file to that directory will automatically include them in your deployment file.
When Maven downloads its dependencies, where does it store those files on a windows machine?
Look for files under C:\Documents and Settings\${userName}\.m2\repository.
Why doesn’t a feature from JDK5 or 6 work?
By default, Maven compiles against JDK1.3. Set the source and target JDK where you have your compile target:
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<source>1.5</source>
<target>1.5</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
How can I create a single deployment file with all dependent libraries merged?
Instead of using the maven-jar-plugin plugin, use the maven-assembly-plugin. Here’s an example
<plugin>
<artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<descriptorRefs>
<descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
</descriptorRefs>
<archive>
<manifest>
<mainClass>com.thekua.spikes.App</mainClass>
</manifest>
</archive>
</configuration>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>make-assembly</id>
<phase>package</phase>
<goals>
<goal>attached</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
