Maven is a build tool, a project management tool, an abstract container for running build tasks. It is a
tool that has shown itself indispensable for projects that graduate beyond the simple and need to start
finding consistent ways to manage and build large collections of interdependent modules and libraries
which make use of tens or hundreds of third-party components. It is a tool that has removed much of the
burden of third-party dependency management from the daily work schedule of millions of engineers, and
it has enabled many organizations to evolve beyond the toil and struggle of build management into a new
phase where the effort required to build and maintain software is no longer a limiting factor in software
design.
This work is the first attempt at a comprehensive title on Maven. It builds upon the combined experience
and work of the authors of all previous Maven titles, and you should view it not as a finished work but
as the first edition in a long line of updates to follow. While Maven has been around for a few years,
the authors of this book believe that it has just begun to deliver on the audacious promises it makes. The
authors, and company behind this book, Sonatype, believe that the publishing of this book marks the
beginning of a new phase of innovation and development surrounding Maven and the software ecosystem
that surrounds it.