Java Setup and First Java Maven Project

Absolutely. Here’s a simple Java + Maven setup and a first Hello World project.

1. Install Java

Install JDK 17 or newer. I recommend JDK 21 for a modern Maven project.

Verify:

java -version
javac -version

You should see something like:

java version "21.x.x"
javac 21.x.x

Also set JAVA_HOME if your OS/tooling needs it.

2. Install Maven

Verify Maven:

mvn -version

You should see something like:

Apache Maven 3.x.x
Java version: 21.x.x

If mvn isn’t recognized, Maven needs to be installed and its bin directory added to your PATH.

3. Create a Maven project

You can create the basic project structure manually:

hello-world/
├── pom.xml
└── src/
    └── main/
        └── java/
            └── com/
                └── example/
                    └── App.java

Create pom.xml:

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
                             https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">

    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>hello-world</artifactId>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>

    <properties>
        <maven.compiler.source>21</maven.compiler.source>
        <maven.compiler.target>21</maven.compiler.target>
    </properties>

</project>

Create App.java:

package com.example;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello, World!");
    }
}

4. Build the project

From the hello-world directory:

mvn clean package

You should eventually see:

BUILD SUCCESS

Maven will create:

target/
└── hello-world-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar

5. Run Hello World

The easiest way initially is:

java -cp target/classes com.example.App

Output:

Hello, World!

6. Maven’s important commands

mvn clean       # Remove previous build files
mvn compile     # Compile Java source
mvn test        # Run tests
mvn package     # Build JAR
mvn clean package

The key idea is:

pom.xml
   ↓
Maven configuration + dependencies
   ↓
src/main/java
   ↓
Java source code
   ↓
mvn package
   ↓
target/
   ↓
JAR

If you’re on Windows, I can also give you the exact JDK + Maven + IntelliJ IDEA setup, including environment variables and creating the project from the Maven archetype.