Friday, December 16, 2011

Java Project Layout - Best Practices

Simple Project
  • project-name
    • trunk
      • src...
      • pom.xml
    • branches
      • branch-abc
        • src...
        • pom.xml
    • tags...

 Multi-Module Project
  • project-name 
    • project-name-parent
      • pom.xml - defines all modules that are part of the project
    • module 1 
      • trunk
        • src...
        • pom.xml - points to the parent pom.xml
      • branches
      • tags
    • module 2
      • trunk
        • src...
        • pom.xml - points to the parent pom.xml
      • branches
      • tags
    • module ...
 The key point is that the parent folder doesn't define the parent project, but is just a container for the parent and the children-modules.

Advantages:
  • Nicely groups the modules under one folder.
  • Allows to build the whole project by calling "mvn clean install" from parent's folder.
  • Keeps the SVN (and/or Git) operations simple, unlike the layout where the project-name-parent is the parent folder.

    Thursday, November 17, 2011

    Project Versioning and Release - Best Practice

    • A new project starts usually as version 1.0.0.0-SNAPSHOT. Three number versions (1.0.0) are also used but, for example, ServiceMix OSGi server requires three dots.
    • A new feature/fix is frequently developed on the trunk and committed there when ready for release.
    • Release. It is usually done on the trunk (does it have to be? what if someone commits changes in the middle of a release?). It is all done by maven release plugin, (more datails here). Is done in two steps: mvn release:prepare i mvn release:perform. What maven does during a release:
      • up the version by 1 (often on the last numbered position: 1.0.0.1)
      • build, maven-release and deploy to organization's repository if any
      • tag it in SCM
      • up the version number on the trunk (it will become 1.0.0.1-SNAPSHOT)
    Notes:
    • On the trunk, we have always -SNAPSHOT versions
    • Each release has a tag
    • If the maven release plugin fails, it usually leaves the pom.xml messed up on the trunk.  Make sure to fix the version and scm tags. 
    • Alternatively,  a new feature/bug fix can be developed on a branch.  In this case, the branch needs to be merged to the trunk, when feature/bug fix is ready. I guess, this merge should happen before the release.
    • In multi-module projects,  if you want to give the same new version to all modules, add set the option autoVersionSubmodules to true (in parent pom?  where?). Otherwise, you'll be asked for the new version for each module.

    Wednesday, September 7, 2011

    Maven - My Own Cheat-Sheet

    • How maven finds the parent pom.xml:
      • by groupId/artifactId/version in the repo (local and then internal etc)
      • by parentsRelativePath if the tag is present
      • if both found, in some order, unknown to me.
    • To do a release: use release plugin which, among others:
      • verifies that not SNAPSHOT dependencies are used
      • cuts of the "-SNAPSHOT" and builds the project
      • tags the corresponding version
      • bumps up the version number and commits the version with "-SNAPSHOT" on the Head of the SVN/CVS
    • Dependency scope:
      • compile - makes the dependency available to dependent projects, will be placed to all classpaths (compile, testing, runtime), it's default scope
    • What are possible values for dependency versions:
      • 1.0.7 - is satisfied by 1.0.7 only and once installed in local repository, it never checks again if a newer or different version 1.0.7 is available
      • 1.0.7-SNAPSHOT - is satisfied by 1.0.7-SNAPSHOT only, but every so often it checks if a newer (or different) 1.0.7-SNAPSHOT is available
      • RELEASE - is satisfied by the highest release version available
      • none (tag skipped) - inherits the version from dependency defined in parent's pluginManagement tag.