Hey folks
this week I stumbled across problems with maven dependency version ranges.
So here we are - a short article about maven dependency version ranges and possible advantages/disadvantages based on my experience.
What are version ranges?
Maven allows you to define a range of version numbers (In a specific format) to resolve automatically the latest version of a defined dependency by the next build execution.
What version ranges am I able to specify?
| Range | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | x >= 1.0 * The default Maven meaning for 1.0 is everything (,) but with 1.0 recommended. Obviously this doesn't work for enforcing versions here, so it has been redefined as a minimum version. |
| (,1.0] | x <= 1.0 |
| (,1.0) | x < 1.0 |
| [1.0] | x == 1.0 |
| [1.0,) | x >= 1.0 |
| (1.0,) | x > 1.0 |
| (1.0,2.0) | 1.0 < x < 2.0 |
| [1.0,2.0] | 1.0 <= x <= 2.0 |
| (,1.0],[1.2,) | x <= 1.0 or x >= 1.2. Multiple sets are comma-separated |
| (,1.1),(1.1,) | x != 1.1 |
For example:
<dependency>
<groupId>com.example</groupId>
<artifactId>healthcheck</artifactId>
<version>[0.0.5,0.3.0)</version>
</dependency>
What's the current version?
You're able to get the actual version by running mvn dependency:list |grep healthcheck
The result will provide the actual version number. It could look like this: [INFO] com.example:healthcheck:jar:0.0.7:compile
Why should I use it?
It's magic. An update to newer dependencies within the defined ranges without hitting the keyboard. So less work to keep an eye for any updates and "magic" gain of possible new features/fixes of the dependency.
Why not?
You never can't be sure that newer versions are compatible to your code and are unbroken. So it could be possible that you're build/compilation will magically be broke caused of newer dependencies.
Conclusion
Well in my opinion the usage of version ranges is a matter of taste and also depends of the used technology. For example in the JavaScript 🌎 version ranges are more recommended and popular.
For Maven especially I like to avoid version ranges to keep my dependency list clean and short to have a better overview about used versions, certain sub-dependencies and avoid possible site effect of magic updates.
Hints
You can resolve newer dependency versions by using mvn versions:display-dependency-updates
Replace version ranges automatically by run mvn versions:resolve-ranges or based on specific groupId's mvn versions:resolve-ranges -Dincludes=com.example:* (',' separation possible)
Be careful resolving SNAPSHOT dependencies by version ranges. They could be under construction and manipulate your expected behavior.
Top comments (0)