⇒ Maven is an essential tool for Java developers, providing a structured project build system, dependency management, and automation. This guide covers everything from Maven fundamentals to architecture, lifecycle, and comparisons with Ant.

🤔 What is a Project Management Tool?

A project management tool helps developers manage and automate the project build process.

✅ Key Functions:

• Acts as a Build Tool
• Manages dependencies (external libraries)
• Helps integrate with Java IDEs (e.g., IntelliJ, Eclipse, NetBeans)

Popular project management tools:

🔹 Maven (Apache)

🔹 Gradle

🔹 Ant

🛠️ Understanding Project Structure in Java

A Java project typically consists of:

• 📜 Source Code (Java files) – Main application logic.
• 🧪 Test Code (JUnit, TestNG) – Unit and integration tests.
• 📁 Project Structure – Directories, assets, and resources.