Introduction to Maven

Maven is a popular build automation tool used primarily for Java projects, but can also be used for other languages. It provides a structured way to manage project dependencies, build and package the project, and manage project configurations. Key concepts in Maven include:

1. Project Object Model (POM): an XML file that contains project configuration information, such as dependencies, plugins, and build settings.
2. Dependency management: Maven handles dependency management by automatically downloading and managing project dependencies from remote repositories.
3. Build lifecycle: Maven defines a standard build lifecycle with a set of phases (e.g., compile, test, package) that can be executed in order or individually.
4. Plugins: Plugins are extensions that provide additional functionality to Maven, such as compiling code, running tests, and generating reports.
5. Central repository: Maven has a central repository that contains a large number of libraries and plugins that can be easily included in a project.