Building Java Applications with Maven

BuildMaster can help you build your Maven-based Java projects, which you can then deploy to Tomcat, WildFly/JBoss EAP, Jetty, or other services like Azure.

This article focuses primarily on how to work with Maven in your build script, so that you can create the artifacts you need to deploy later on in your pipeline.

Installing and Configuring Maven

Before building your Maven project using BuildMaster, you'll need to make sure that both Maven is installed and the appropriate JDK is installed on your build server.

Alternatively, you can use a Docker container image like maven on Docker Hub; see Image-based Services (Containerized Builds) to learn more.

Build Maven Project Script Template

The easiest way to work with Maven in BuildMaster is with the Build Maven Project Script Template. It's a simple, no-code solution that will check out your code from Git, run Maven, then capture build artifacts for later deployment.

The script template can set the project version, configure repositories (settings.xml), and even run npm to build front-end, Javascript code for Java web applications.

Creating a Build Script with Maven

Although a Maven project file (i.e. POM.xml file) can get complicated, running maven itself is really easy. You just specify the "goals/phases" to run (generally clean and package), and maven will handle the rest.

You can do this in OtterScript with the Java::Maven operation as follows:

Java::Maven
(
    GoalsAndPhases: "clean package"
);

The Java::Maven operation is essentially a wrapper for the mvn command-line tool, and if you're familiar with mvn, it'll be just as easy to use. The above OtterScript basically translates to mvn clean package.

Sample Build Script

The following sample script will get the latest source code from Git, run Maven, then capture the build output (jar file) as a BuildMaster artifact:

Git::Get-Source
(
    RepositoryUrl: https://github.com/Inedo/ProfitCalcJava.git,
    Branch: master
);
Java::Maven
(
    GoalsAndPhases: "clean package",
    In: ProfitCalcJava
);
Create-Artifact ProfitCalcJava
(
    From: ProfitCalcJava\target
);

Integrating Maven with ProGet

When BuildMaster is connected to ProGet, ProGet feeds can be integrated with the Java::Maven operation by specifying the DependenciesFeed and PluginsFeed paramters. When either of these parameters are specified, a custom "settings.xml" is created with those Maven repositories and their related authentication accounts. This file will then be pased to the mvn command using the -s parameter.

For example:

Java::Maven
(
    GoalsAndPhases: "clean package",
    In: ProfitCalcJava,
    DependenciesFeed: feed::InternalMaven,
    PluginsFeed: feed::InternalMaven
);

This operation will generate a settings.xml file with these feeds and run the following mvn command in the ProfitCalcJava directory:

mvn clean package -s settings.xml

Alternatively, you can create a custom settings.xml on your server and pass that to the Java::Maven operation using the SettingsXml parameter.