Apache Maven 1.1 released

Apache Maven 1.1 was released yesterday as the final release with new features to the 1.x branch of Maven. Maven is an open source project management tool for Java developers.

Additional bugfix and security updates are possible, but this is the last release that will include new features. The upgrade is recommended for all users of version 1.x, including those using pre-1.1 betas or release candidates. If you’re new to this software, you need to know that the latest stable release is Maven 2.0.7, which is recommended for all new projects. However, it is not backwards compatible with Maven 1.x. The 1.1 release is, with a few exceptions, backwards compatible with Maven 1.0.

Besides offering what the development team calls “significant improvements in memory usage and general performance” over Maven 1.0.2, this latest release incorporates Maven 2 technologies — i.e., the Maven Wagon general transport layer and Maven SCM, which supports Maven 2.x plugins. 1.1 also includes upgraded versions of most bundled plugins, better error handling and reporting, an improved POM layout, and documentation updates.

Maven works on the concept of a Project Object Model (POM), which is essentially “an xml file that contains information about the project and configuration details used by Maven to build the project.”

By controlling builds, documentation creation, site publication, and distribution publication from the POM, it is intended to streamline the development process. The application also includes tools that facilitate the creation of “source metrics, change logs based directly on source repository, and source cross-references.”

Basically, everything works via plugins. If you are interested in seeing Maven in action, the Web site includes a page of links to projects that are currently using the application.

Maven 1.1 runs on Unix-based operating systems, including Linux, Mac OS X, as well as Windows 2000/XP. Read the release notes for further details about this version.

Shirl Kennedy is the senior editor of theDocuTickerandResourceShelfWeblogs as well as the “Internet Waves” columnist forInformation Today. She has been writing about technology since 1992.