Java Helps: Maven

Apache Maven for Beginners

Apache Maven is a build tool widely being used by Java developers to manage project dependencies, control build process and automate tests. Apache Maven makes our life easier especially in building a complex Java project. However, beginners stay away from Apache Maven as I did years ago just because they find it complex to learn and use. This article simplifies the concept of Apache Maven and introduces Maven in a smooth way to beginners. In this article, you will see how you can use Apache Maven to manage your project dependencies using a simple Java project as an example. The article is structured into two main topics: Apache Maven in Eclipse and Apache Maven in IntelliJ IDEA. Of course, you can use Apache Maven without any IDEs. However, I stick with IDEs to make it simple for beginners. Other applications of Apache Maven like build management and test automation will be covered in another article.

Let's begin with manual dependency management using a simple calculator application. Suppose you want to develop a Calculator that receives a simple arithmetic expression like "2 + 3 * 5" as input and prints the output in the console. It is a complex task to evaluate such a String input and calculate the result by ourselves. Fortunately, there is a library: exp4j which can evaluate a String expression and return the output.

Set Proxy for Maven in Eclipse

If your computer connects with Internet through a proxy server, Maven plugin of Eclipse will not update the project artifacts or Maven plugins. The system proxy settings or proxy settings of Eclipse are not detected by Maven plugin. This tutorial shows you the way to enable proxy for Maven in Eclipse. If you want to configure the proxy for the Apache Maven command line tool, follow the steps 1 and 2 only.

Step 1:

Copy and paste the following content in your favorite editor and save it as settings.xml in the given directory.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<settings
 xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/SETTINGS/1.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
 xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/SETTINGS/1.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/settings-1.0.0.xsd">
 <pluginGroups/>
 <proxies>
  <!-- Proxy for HTTP -->
  <proxy>
   <id>optional</id>
   <active>true</active>
   <protocol>http</protocol>
   <username>proxyuser</username>
   <password>proxypass</password>
   <host>proxy.host.net</host>
   <port>80</port>
   <nonProxyHosts>local.net</nonProxyHosts>
  </proxy>

  <!-- Proxy for HTTPS -->
  <proxy>
   <id>optional</id>
   <active>true</active>
   <protocol>https</protocol>
   <username>proxyuser</username>
   <password>proxypass</password>
   <host>proxy.host.net</host>
   <port>80</port>
   <nonProxyHosts>local.net</nonProxyHosts>
  </proxy>
 </proxies>

 <servers/>
 <mirrors/>
 <profiles/>
</settings>

Directory for Linux users:
/home/{username}/.m2/

Apache Maven for Beginners

Set Proxy for Maven in Eclipse

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