m2eclipse is more than just a simple plugin, it changes the way you'll create projects. Specifically, it will allow you to create projects from archetypes without having to type a command-line the size of a paragraph. I just updated the m2eclipse chapter and included more details about the 88 available archetypes in the Maven repository.
On deck for the book is information about the POM editor...
The following is an excerpt from the chapter. What is interesting about the m2eclipse plugin is that it has the side-effect of making it easier to adopt the projects that have created Maven Archetypes. Granted, this project list could be larger, but it should be interesting to someone who wants to get a quickstart into developing an application with Wicket or AppFuse. The other thing that is very cool about m2eclipse is that it doesn't ship with a static list of archetypes, m2eclipse is using the Nexus Indexer to maintain an index of the Maven repository.
When this chapter was last updated, m2eclipse had
approximately ninety archetypes in this Archetype dialog. Highlights of
this list include:
-
Standard Maven Archetypes to create
-
Maven Plugins
-
Simple Web Applications
-
Simple Projects
-
New Maven Archetypes
-
-
Archetypes (data-driven Wicket Applications) under
net.databinder
-
Apache Cocoon
Archetypes underorg.apache.cocoon
-
Apache Directory
Server Archetypes under
org.apache.directory.server
-
Apache
Geronimo Archetypes under
org.apache.geronimo.buildsupport
-
Archetypes under
org.apache.myfaces.buildtools
-
Apache
Tapestry Archetypes under
org.apache.tapestry
-
Apache Wicket
Archetypes underorg.apache.wicket
-
AppFuse Archetypes
underorg.appfuse.archetypes
-
Archetypes under
org.codehaus.cargo
-
Codehaus
Castor Archetypes under
org.codehaus.castor
-
Groovy-based
Maven Plugin Archetypes (deprecated) under
org.codehaus.mojo.groovy
-
Jini Archetypes
-
Archetypes under
org.mule.tools
-
Objectweb
Fractal Archetypes under
org.objectweb.fractal
-
Objectweb
Petals Archetypes under
org.objectweb.petals
-
ops4j Archetypes under
org.ops4j
-
Parancoe under
org.parancoe
-
slf4j Archetypes under
org.slf4j
-
OSGI and Web Services Archetypes under
org.springframework
-
Trails
Framework Archetypes under
org.trailsframework
[4]And these were just the archetypes that were listed under
the Nexus Indexer Catalog, if you switch Catalogs you'll see other
archetypes. While your results may vary, the following additional
archetypes were available in the Internal Catalog:
-
Atlassian
Confluence Plugin Archetype under
com.atlassian.maven.archetypes
-
Archetypes under
org.apache.struts
-
Apache Shale Archetypes under
org.apache.shale