FAQ

  1. How can I make my documents produced by Maven look more like the more graphically pleasing codehaus or apache.org documentation ?
  2. maven plugins at codeahause
  3. I need to set up a corporate repository for jars, but they are proprietary !
  4. What are 3 pieces of info for every jar ?
  5. Running Ant routines as a defense against poor documentation.
  6. How to drill down into ibiblio and find the latest version for say, sevlet-api or taglibs
  7. How to mark a file as temporary using the version when you don't know what the real version is
  8. sometimes you have to download a jar multiple times
  9. What if I go down a Maven rat-hole like why is it doing this or that
  10. What to always cvsignore or svnignore or equivalent.
  11. Where to put stuff so that tests will see it too, and challenges on how to use the classpath such as with testing
How can I make my documents produced by Maven look more like the more graphically pleasing codehaus or apache.org documentation ?

Steal, borrow from or modify the .css files.

[top]
maven plugins at codeahause

http://mojo.codehaus.org/

[top]
I need to set up a corporate repository for jars, but they are proprietary !

Set up your corporate repository on https instead of http.

[top]
What are 3 pieces of info for every jar ?

Group ID, name, version

May or may not wish to comment on use of java packaging convention for groupid

[top]
Running Ant routines as a defense against poor documentation.

Sometimes it's easier to run an ant command than it is to figure out how to do something that isn't documented very well in Maven.

[top]
How to drill down into ibiblio and find the latest version for say, sevlet-api or taglibs

site:ibiblio.org servlet-api

[top]
How to mark a file as temporary using the version when you don't know what the real version is

I find it helpful to mark it in a stupid way so you know that it's made up, as opposed to something that you might confuse with the real thing.

For example fromJohnsBigAppJune06

Instead of 2.0.5

Why ? Because you are only guessing, and the worst thing you can do is mislead someone who comes along half a year later thinking this might be the real thing. If it's a guess, make it obvious that you are guessing.

[top]
sometimes you have to download a jar multiple times

Not sure why, but it happens a lot. So be sure to run mvn again if first try or two fails, if you think the jar is really there.

[top]
What if I go down a Maven rat-hole like why is it doing this or that

(Also noted elsewhere) be sure it's really worth worrying about. Maven does a lot that can be ignored if it's crunch time. Let it go if it doesn't matter.

[top]
What to always cvsignore or svnignore or equivalent.

And be sure to do it before the first commit ! Hard to undo in cvs, for example. target directory and .classpath file

[top]
Where to put stuff so that tests will see it too, and challenges on how to use the classpath such as with testing

This takes some experimentation, and I have also had to write calls to special ant copy and delete tasks to copy to target directories, for example.

[top]