Apache Maven

Apache Maven is a build automation and project management tool used mainly for Java projects, developed under the Apache Software Foundation. At its core, Maven helps developers manage everything needed to turn source code into a working application. Instead of writing long build scripts, you describe your project in a single file called the POM (Project Object Model), usually pom.xml, and Maven takes care of the rest. Here’s what Maven actually does in practice: It compiles your code, runs tests, packages the output into formats like JAR or WAR files, and manages all external libraries your project depends on. One of its biggest strengths is dependency management, meaning it automatically downloads and organizes the third party libraries your project needs from central repositories instead of you manually handling them. Maven also follows a standardized build lifecycle. That means once you understand how one Maven project works, most others follow the same structure. It uses a “convention over configuration” approach, so it assumes standard folder layouts and build steps unless you explicitly change them.