maven central library - unix1998/technical_notes GitHub Wiki

The Maven Central Repository, often referred to simply as "Central," is the primary repository for the Java community to publish and share libraries and plugins. It contains a vast number of libraries, plugins, and other dependencies that are commonly used in Java projects.

1. Wide Range of Libraries and Plugins:

   • Maven Central hosts a comprehensive collection of popular open-source libraries and plugins. This includes a vast majority of the dependencies needed for most Java projects.

2. Default Repository:

   • Maven Central is the default repository configured in Maven. If no other repositories are specified in your pom.xml or settings.xml files, Maven will use Central to resolve dependencies.

3. Automatic Download:

   • When you specify dependencies or plugins in your pom.xml, Maven will automatically download them from Central if they are available there.

Here are some of the popular plugins and packages that you can find in Maven Central:

• Build Plugins:

  • maven-compiler-plugin
  • maven-surefire-plugin
  • maven-jar-plugin
  • maven-war-plugin
  • maven-assembly-plugin
  • maven-dependency-plugin

• Testing Frameworks:

  • JUnit (junit:junit)
  • TestNG (org.testng:testng)
  • Mockito (org.mockito:mockito-core)

• Dependency Management:

  • Apache Commons libraries (org.apache.commons:commons-*)
  • Google Guava (com.google.guava:guava)
  • SLF4J (org.slf4j:slf4j-api and implementations)
  • Log4j (org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core)
  • Jackson (com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind)

• Web Frameworks:

  • Spring Framework (org.springframework:spring-*)
  • Apache Struts (org.apache.struts:struts2-core)
  • Hibernate (org.hibernate:hibernate-core)

You can search for libraries and plugins available in Maven Central using the Maven Central Repository Search. This web interface allows you to find artifacts by groupId, artifactId, or other criteria.

Here's an example pom.xml that uses some of the popular plugins and dependencies from Maven Central:

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>my-app</artifactId>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>

    <dependencies>
        <!-- JUnit for testing -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>junit</groupId>
            <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
            <version>4.13.2</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <!-- SLF4J API for logging -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
            <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
            <version>1.7.30</version>
        </dependency>
        <!-- Logback for SLF4J implementation -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
            <artifactId>logback-classic</artifactId>
            <version>1.2.3</version>
        </dependency>
        <!-- Spring Context -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-context</artifactId>
            <version>5.3.6</version>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <!-- Maven Compiler Plugin -->
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>3.8.1</version>
                <configuration>
                    <source>1.8</source>
                    <target>1.8</target>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <!-- Maven Surefire Plugin -->
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>3.0.0-M5</version>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</project>

Maven Central Repository hosts a wide array of popular plugins and packages that are essential for Java development. By specifying the necessary dependencies and plugins in your pom.xml, Maven will automatically handle the downloading and installation from Central, ensuring your project has all the required components for building and running your applications.