Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.Maven is a software tool for Java project management and build automation. It is similar in functionality to the Apache Ant tool, but is based on different concepts. Maven is hosted by the Apache Software Foundation, where it was formerly part of the Jakarta Project. Maven uses a construct known as a Project Object Model (POM) to describe the software project being built, its dependencies on other external modules and components, and the build order. It comes with pre-defined targets for performing certain well defined tasks such as compilation of code and its packaging. Maven dynamically downloads Java libraries and Maven plug-ins from one or more repositories. Maven provides built-in support for retrieving files from the Maven 2 Central Repository and other Maven repositories, and can upload artifacts to specific repositories after a successful build. A local cache of downloaded artifacts acts as the primary means of synchronizing the output of projects on a local system. Maven is built using a plugin-based architecture that allows it to make use of any application controllable through standard input.