What is Maven and what are its core features?

Maven is a build automation tool primarily used for Java projects. It simplifies the build process by managing project dependencies, compiling source code, packaging the code into JAR or WAR files, and deploying the artifacts to remote repositories. Maven uses a declarative approach, where project metadata is defined in an XML file called pom.xml.

Some of the core features of Maven include:

• Dependency management: Maven automatically downloads and manages project dependencies from remote repositories.
• Build lifecycle: Maven defines a set of build phases (compile, test, package, etc.) that are executed in a predefined sequence.
• Plugins: Maven supports a wide range of plugins that extend its functionality, such as compiler plugins, packaging plugins, and deployment plugins.
• Convention over configuration: Maven follows a set of conventions that allow for minimal configuration, reducing the need for custom settings.
• Dependency mediation: Maven resolves conflicts between transitive dependencies by selecting the version with the highest precedence.