How do I check installed JARs, external libraries, etc. on three different Java IDEs?

Question

I\'ve written programs in several languages and have tutored students in computer science, but just starting to learn Java on my MacBook. Regarding this question, I\'d be happy

Answer 1

Maven

Question: I'd also like advice on the right way, or simplest/cleanest way, to install external JARs.

If you really wanna work in a organised way and wanna focus completely on coding rather than looking for dependencies to work with , then try building your projects with Apache Maven. The magic wand of Maven projects are pom.xml file where all magic happens depending upon your wish.

Maven is a build automation tool used primarily for Java projects. Maven addresses two aspects of building software:

• Describes and manages how software is built.
• Describes and manages dependencies (various libraries used by your code).

Why Maven:

1. De facto standard
2. Able to compile, test, pack and distribute source code ( different Goals)
3. Robust dependency management (Most important from my point of view)
4. Extensible via plugin
5. Good community support and many fan boys around.
6. The big 3 IDEs (IntelliJ, NetBeans, and Eclipse) all having good support for Maven, letting you use Maven as a substitute for their own proprietary project definition and build process.
7. Maven famously caches all of its dependencies in the ~/.m2 directory, which is sometimes called the local Maven repository. Maven local repository keeps your project's all dependencies (library jars, plugin jars etc.). When you run a Maven build, then Maven automatically downloads all the dependency jars into the local repository. It helps to avoid references to dependencies stored on remote machine every time a project is build.

You can simply deploy your project as JAR, WAR, or EAR file and use it on different IDEs or as standalone.