先看一下Apache官網(wǎng)的解釋：
Apache Maven is a software project management and comprehension tool. Based on the concept of a project object model (POM),
Maven can manage a project's build, reporting and documentation from a central piece of information.
翻譯：Maven是基于項(xiàng)目對象模型(POM即Project Object Model)，可以通過一小段描述信息來管理項(xiàng)目的構(gòu)建，報告和文檔的軟件項(xiàng)目管理工具。
通過上面這句話，我們可以了解到Maven不僅僅可以管理項(xiàng)目的構(gòu)建，而且可以根據(jù)項(xiàng)目源碼自動生成文檔，以及報告。說句實(shí)話，對于我這種不太愿意寫文檔的人來說，實(shí)在是太方便了。
什么是Maven
Maven, a Yiddish word meaning accumulator of knowledge, was originally started as an attempt to simplify the build processes in the Jakarta Turbine project.
There were several projects each with their own Ant build files that were all slightly different and JARs were checked into CVS. We wanted a standard way to build the projects, a clear definition of what the project consisted of, an easy way to publish project information and a way to share JARs across several projects.
The result is a tool that can now be used for building and managing any Java-based project. We hope that we have created something that will make the day-to-day work of Java developers easier and generally help with the comprehension of any Java-based project.
翻譯：
Maven這個單詞來自于意第緒語，意為知識的積累，最早在Jakata Turbine項(xiàng)目中它開始被用來試圖簡化構(gòu)建過程。當(dāng)時有很多項(xiàng)目，它們的Ant build文件僅有細(xì)微的差別，而JAR文件都由CVS來維護(hù)。于是Maven創(chuàng)始者想要更加標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的方式構(gòu)建項(xiàng)目，該項(xiàng)目的清晰定義包括：一種很方便的方式來發(fā)布項(xiàng)目信息，以及一種在多個項(xiàng)目中共享JAR的方式。
現(xiàn)在，Maven，成為了一種被用于構(gòu)建和管理任何基于Java項(xiàng)目的工具。Maven創(chuàng)始者希望能夠更多的讓Java開發(fā)人員的日常工作更加容易，幫助理解任何基于Java項(xiàng)目。
maven的目標(biāo)
Maven’s primary goal is to allow a developer to comprehend the complete state of a development effort in the shortest period of time. In order to attain this goal there are several areas of concern that Maven attempts to deal with:
1、Making the build process easy
2、Providing a uniform build system
3、Providing quality project information
4、Providing guidelines for best practices development
5、Allowing transparent migration to new features
翻譯：
Maven的主要目標(biāo)是為了使開發(fā)人員在最短的時間內(nèi)領(lǐng)會項(xiàng)目的所有狀態(tài)。為了達(dá)到這一目標(biāo)，Maven考慮一下五個方面的內(nèi)容：
1、使得構(gòu)建過程更加容易，方便編譯，打包，發(fā)布
2、為每個項(xiàng)目提供統(tǒng)一的配置
3、提供優(yōu)質(zhì)項(xiàng)目信息
4、最佳開發(fā)實(shí)踐
5、安裝和更新第三插件透明化
