How do you replace the class of a Maven dependency?

Question

There is a class in a maven dependency that is incompatible with Java 8.

How do you properly fix that problem?

Right now I\'m doing the following:

Answer 1

Similar to Steven S.'s answer, but using the maven-dependency-plugin. Based on this blog post.

I changed the name of the patched library (not the version), but it depends on your needs what works better for you.

The dependency on the original library should be marked as true. Otherwise, the projects that depend on your patched library will also depend on the original library, which means that both the patched and the original version will be on the classpath, which can lead to all kinds of problems.

If your project is a child project, you can still use a completely different groupId and version than your parent pom. Doesn't matter.

You can exclude the classes you patch from unpacking, but it's probably not necessary, because Maven will first unpack the original library and then compile your new version, which means that the original classes are overwritten. Nice!

  4.0.0

  
  
    my.company
    my.company
    1.2.3
    ../pom.xml
  

  com.foo
  foo-bar-patched
  4.5.6

  
    
      
        maven-dependency-plugin
        
          
            
              unpack
            
            
              
                
                  com.foo
                  foo-bar
                  ${project.build.directory}/classes
                  
                  
                
              
            
          
        
      
    
  

  
    
      com.foo
      foo-bar
      4.5.6
      true