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Understanding Maven Build Lifecycles: A Simple Guide
Maven is a popular build tool that helps developers manage their Java projects. One of its most important features is its build lifecycle — a set of steps that Maven follows to build and distribute your project. In this article, we’ll break down Maven’s lifecycles in simple terms and see how they work.
What is a Maven Lifecycle?
Think of a Maven lifecycle as a recipe for cooking. Just like you follow specific steps when cooking (like preparing ingredients, cooking, and serving), Maven follows certain steps to build your project. These steps are called “phases,” and they always happen in a fixed order.
The Three Main Lifecycles
Maven has three main lifecycles:
- Default (or Build) Lifecycle
- Clean Lifecycle
- Site Lifecycle
Let’s look at each one in detail.
1. Default (Build) Lifecycle
This is the most important lifecycle. It’s what Maven uses to build and deploy your project. Here are its main phases in order:
validate
- Checks if your project setup is correct
- Makes sure all necessary information is…