Maven terms — dependency and plugin, repository vs. pluginRepository

Question

I\'ve been working with Maven for days but still get confused about some of the terms:

First question is what is the difference between repository and <

Answer 1

Back in Maven1.0, plugins and normal artifacts were in different repositories (as far as I know). In Maven2+ they are stored together in a repository. But there are many different repositories out there from many different companies and projects so you have to pick the repositories you need.

A plugin is a tool you use at the execution of your maven build. For example, the compiler plugin compiles your Java code into Bytecode. A normal dependency are artifacts you use in your application like libraries.

Both plugins and artifacts can have transitive dependencies. That means they have dependencies themselves.