Outline

Step 1: Installing Maven

Downloading and installing the latest version of Maven is the first step to start using this tool.

Mac Tip install macports http://www.macports.org/install.php, then on the terminal sudo port install maven2 In future, to keep this up to date: sudo port upgrade maven2

NOTE: It is very helpful if you understand some Maven concepts before continuing with this tutorial. See General Maven Documentation for more information.

Step 2: Configuring your Maven Settings

Before start using Maven, you have to configure it in order to use the plug-ins provided by WOProject. General Maven configuration is made in a settings.xml file. This file can be found in a folder called .m2 in each user's home directory (~/.m2 on Unix systems and C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\.m2 on Windows). If this file does not yet exist, you can just create it.

You have to define the WOProject plug-in group and the repositories to download the plug-ins. The following xml is sufficient to configure maven for using WOProject-maven plugin:

<settings xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
        xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
                      http://maven.apache.org/xsd/settings-1.0.0.xsd">
	<pluginGroups>
		<pluginGroup>org.objectstyle.woproject.maven2</pluginGroup>
	</pluginGroups>
	<profiles>
		<profile>
			<id>woproject</id>
			<activation>
				<activeByDefault>true</activeByDefault>
			</activation>
			<pluginRepositories>
				<pluginRepository>
					<id>mdimension.releases</id>
					<name>MDimension Releases Repository</name>
					<url>
						http://webobjects.mdimension.com/maven2/releases
					</url>
					<releases>
						<enabled>true</enabled>
					</releases>
					<snapshots>
						<enabled>false</enabled>
					</snapshots>
				</pluginRepository>
				<pluginRepository>
					<id>mdimension.snapshots</id>
					<name>MDimension Snapshots Repository</name>
					<url>
						http://webobjects.mdimension.com/maven2/snapshots
					</url>
					<releases>
						<enabled>false</enabled>
					</releases>
					<snapshots>
						<enabled>true</enabled>
					</snapshots>
				</pluginRepository>
			</pluginRepositories>
		</profile>
	</profiles>
</settings>

NOTE: You can download the complete and most recent settings.xml here. See Maven Settings Reference if you want more information about additional options for the settings.xml file.

Step 3: Installing WebObjects Libraries

Maven takes control of all your project's dependencies. To develop WebObjects applications, Maven has to reference the WebObjects jars. You have to install the WebObjects libraries into your local repository to accomplish this:

mvn wobootstrap:install

NOTE: WebObjects must be installed. See the maven-wobootstrap-plugin documentation for more information. See Maven Introduction to Repositories if you want more information about Maven repositories.

Installing the right jars! Do not link to or install the WebObjects jars located inside /System/Library/Frameworks or /Library/Frameworks. If you're installing an older version of WebObjects you must obtain the jars that the WebObjects installer had previously installed into /Library/WebObjects/lib. For example, the jar /Library/WebObjects/lib/JavaWebObjects.jar has the complete set of resources and files included for the dependency JavaWebObjects whereas /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaWebObjects.framework/Resources/Java/javawebobjects.jar does not.

Step 4: Creating a WebObjects Project

Archetypes are the fast way to create a new project using Maven. WOProject provides one archetype to create WebObjects Application. Execute the following command to generate a basic WebObjects project:

mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeArtifactId=woapplication-archetype \
		-DarchetypeGroupId=org.objectstyle.woproject.maven2 \
		-DarchetypeVersion=2.0.16 \
		-DarchetypeRepository=http://webobjects.mdimension.com/maven2/releases

The maven-archetype-plugin will ask the required information to create the new project.

NOTE: You can use archetype catalogs to reduce the number of properties to set while creating a project. See the documentation of woapplication-archetype.

NOTE: You can use archetypes within Eclipse as described here.

Step 5: Importing the Project into Eclipse

The new project is ready to be imported into Eclipse workspace. Use the Eclipse's import wizard (File > Import...) and choose the option "Existing Projects into Workspace". Select the root directory of your new project and finish the import wizard.

Warning As Maven takes care of the dependency management, you must use a mechanism to add the jars to your Eclipse build path. There are 3 options: Use the mvn eclipse:eclipse goal to update your .classpath file. Use the m2eclipse plug-in for Eclipse. Use the q4e plug-in for Eclipse.

After adding the project dependencies to your Eclipse build path, WOLips can build the project and you will be able to start developing and running the application.

NOTE: This tutorial assumes you have chosen the option 2. You can find more information about IDE integration here.

Step 6: Building WebObjects Applications with Maven

Now, building your project with Maven is easy. Go to the project folder on Terminal and execute:

mvn clean package

This goal will generate a WOA package inside the target folder of your project. It also generates two compressed packages: one for woapplication and other for the webserver resources.

To install your project into your local repository:

mvn clean install

This will install your project into ~/.m2/repository/your/project/groupId/artifactId/version/...