Maven support

[John Smith]

For those interested in Maven:
  See http://javafx-jira.kenai.com/browse/RT-25282 "Create a Maven plugin for JavaFX"

-----Original Message-----
From: openjfx-dev-bounces at openjdk.java.net [mailto:openjfx-dev-bounces at openjdk.java.net] On Behalf Of Mark Fortner
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 1:55 PM
To: openjfx-dev at openjdk.java.net
Subject: Maven support

There have been several discussions in the past six months about Maven support in JavaFX and I wanted to re-open the topic and perhaps get a comprehensive and current must-have list before filing an issue on it.
 Here's my list:

   - Create a Maven archetype to generate a JavaFX project skeleton.  The
   archetype would:
      - Generate the appropriate folder structure including a folder for
      distribution resources like the splashscreen.
      - Generate a POM file with the appropriate dependencies.
      - Generate Maven goals for creating:
         - JNLP
         - Double-clickable JAR
         - Windows executable
         - Linux RPM and Deb files
         http://mojo.codehaus.org/rpm-maven-plugin/,
         http://mojo.codehaus.org/deb-maven-plugin/
         - Mac DMG file: http://mojo.codehaus.org/osxappbundle-maven-plugin/
      - Handle signing of the JARs (including dependencies).
   - Generate the source, and javadoc artifacts and install them in a
   public repository.  Even though the JavaFX binaries are being distributed,
   the source and the JavaDoc are not, which makes debugging a pain.

The POM should have no native dependencies.  Development shops typically have a build machine (usually Linux) that runs automated builds, and the machine should be able to build any platform-specific executable.

The POM shouldn't rely on Ant calls.  The Maven plugin should be self-contained and easily configurable.

Once the basics are sorted out, it would be good to re-examine how developing JavaFX apps could be made even easier with Maven.  For example, it might be nice to autogenerate these "Observable" POJOs from POJOs that already exist and are being used on the server.  Imagine having the JavaFX version of Spring ROO or Grails where the forms and controllers you need are automatically generated.  This would make it easier the prospect of transitioning to a new toolkit less daunting, and make it possible to build on the infrastructure and services that you already have in place.

Mark