Get started with Azure SDK and Apache Maven

Article
07/11/2023

This article shows you how to use Apache Maven to build applications with the Azure SDK for Java. In this article, you set up a new project with Maven, build projects with Maven, and use the GraalVM native image tooling to create platform-specific native binaries.

The Azure SDK for Java project includes a Maven archetype that can accelerate the bootstrapping of a new project. The Azure SDK for Java Maven archetype creates a new application, with files and a directory structure that follows best practices. In particular, the Azure SDK for Java Maven archetype creates a new Maven project with the following features:

A dependency on the latest azure-sdk-bom BOM release, which ensures that all dependencies for Azure SDK for Java are aligned, and gives you the best developer experience possible.
Built-in support for GraalVM native image compilation.
Support for generating a new project with a specified set of Azure SDK for Java client libraries.
Integration with the Azure SDK for Java build tooling, which gives build-time analysis of your project to ensure that many best practices are followed.

Prerequisites

Java Developer Kit, version 8 or later. We recommend version 17 for the best experience.
Apache Maven

Create a new Maven project

The Azure SDK for Java Maven archetype is published to Maven Central. That means you can use the archetype directly to bootstrap a new application with the following command:

mvn archetype:generate \
    -DarchetypeGroupId=com.azure.tools \
    -DarchetypeArtifactId=azure-sdk-archetype

After you enter this command, a series of prompts asks for details about your project so the archetype can generate the right output for you. The following table describes the properties you need to provide values for:

Name	Description
`groupId`	(Required) The Maven `groupId` to use in the POM file created for the generated project.
`artifactId`	(Required) The Maven `artifactId` to use in the POM file created for the generated project.
`package`	(Optional) The package name to put the generated code into. Inferred from the `groupId` if it's not specified.
`azureLibraries`	(Optional) A comma-separated list of Azure SDK for Java libraries, using their Maven artifact IDs. For a list of such artifact IDs, see Azure SDK Releases.
`enableGraalVM`	(Optional) false to indicate that the generated Maven POM file shouldn't include support for compiling your application to a native image using GraalVM; otherwise, true. The default value is true.
`javaVersion`	(Optional) The minimum version of the JDK to target when building the generated project, such as 8, 11, or 17. The default value is the latest LTS release (currently 17). The minimum value is 8.
`junitVersion`	(Optional) The version of JUnit to include as a dependency. The default value is 5. Valid values 4 and 5.

Alternately, you can provide these values when you call the archetype command shown earlier. This approach is useful, for example, for automation purposes. You can specify the values as parameters using the standard Maven syntax of appending -D to the parameter name, for example:

-DjavaVersion=17

Java version support

As a best practice, you should use a Java LTS release when deploying to production. By default, the Azure SDK Maven archetype selects the latest LTS release, which currently sets a Java 17 baseline. However, you can override the default behavior by setting the javaVersion parameter.

Use the Azure SDK for Java build tool

The Azure SDK for Java project ships a Maven build tool that you can include in your projects. This tool runs locally and doesn't transmit any data to Microsoft. You can configure the tool to generate a report or fail the build when certain conditions are met, which is useful to ensure compliance with numerous best practices, such as the following practices:

Validation of the correct use of the azure-sdk-for-java BOM, including using the latest version, and relying on it to define dependency versions on Azure SDK for Java client libraries. For more information, see the Add Azure SDK for Java to an existing project section.
Validation that historical Azure client libraries aren't being used when newer and improved versions exist.

The report also provides insight into usage of beta APIs.

You can configure the build tool in a project Maven POM file as shown in the following example. Be sure to replace the {latest_version} placeholder with the latest version listed online.

<build>
  <plugins>
    <plugin>
      <groupId>com.azure.tools</groupId>
      <artifactId>azure-sdk-build-tool</artifactId>
      <version>{latest_version}</version>
    </plugin>
  </plugins>
</build>

After adding the build tool into a Maven project, you can run the tool by calling mvn compile azure:run. Depending on the configuration provided, you can expect to see build failures or report files generated that can inform you about potential issues before they become more serious. We recommend that you run this tool as part of your CI/CD pipeline. As the build tool evolves, we'll publish new releases, and we recommend that developers frequently check for new releases and update as appropriate.

It's possible to configure the build tool to enable or disable particular features. For this configuration, add a configuration section in the XML shown previously. Within that section, configure the settings shown in the following table. Any configuration that isn't explicitly mentioned takes the default value specified in the table.

Property name	Default value	Description
`validateAzureSdkBomUsed`	true	Ensures that the project has the azure-sdk-for-java BOM referenced appropriately, so that Azure SDK for Java client library dependencies may take their versions from the BOM.
`validateLatestBomVersionUsed`	true	Ensures that dependencies are kept up to date by reporting back (or failing the build) if a newer azure-sdk-for-java BOM exists. You can always find the latest version online.
`validateBomVersionsAreUsed`	true	Ensures that, where a dependency is available from the azure-sdk-for-java BOM, the version isn't being manually overridden.
`validateNoDeprecatedMicrosoftLibraryUsed`	true	Ensures that the project doesn't make use of previous-generation Azure libraries. Using the new and previous-generation libraries in a single project is unlikely to cause any issue, but results in a suboptimal developer experience.
`validateNoBetaLibraryUsed`	false	Some Azure SDK for Java client libraries have beta releases, with version strings in the form `x.y.z-beta.n`. Enabling this feature ensures that no beta libraries are being used.
`validateNoBetaApiUsed`	true	Azure SDK for Java client libraries sometimes have GA releases with methods annotated with `@Beta`. This check looks to see if any such methods are being used.
`sendToMicrosoft`	true	Specifies whether to send the build report to Microsoft for telemetry purposes. This helps guide the development team on where to prioritize documentation, samples, and improved convenience APIs. No user-identifiable content is submitted.
`reportFile`	-	(Optional) Specifies the location to write the build report out to, in JSON format. If not specified, no report is written, and a summary of the build, or the appropriate build failures, is shown in the terminal.

Add Azure SDK for Java to an existing project

To make dependency version management simpler, the Azure SDK for Java team publishes the Azure SDK for Java client BOM each month. This BOM file includes all Generally Available (GA) Azure SDK for Java client packages with their compatible dependency version.

To use dependency versions for an Azure SDK for Java client library that is in the BOM, include the following snippet in the project pom.xml file. Replace the {bom_version_to_target} placeholder with the latest release of the Azure SDK for Java BOM. Replace the {artifactId} placeholder with the Azure service SDK package name.

<dependencyManagement>
  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
      <artifactId>azure-sdk-bom</artifactId>
      <version>{bom_version_to_target}</version>
      <type>pom</type>
      <scope>import</scope>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>

<dependencies>
  <dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>{artifactId}</artifactId>
  </dependency>
</dependencies>

You can find all releases of the Azure SDK for Java client BOM at azure-sdk-bom. We recommend using the latest version to take advantage of the newest features of the Azure SDK for Java client libraries.

Using Maven to define project dependencies can make managing your projects simpler. With the Azure SDK BOM and Azure SDK Maven archetype, you can accelerate your project while being more confident about your dependency versioning over the long term. We recommend using the BOM to keep dependencies aligned and up to date.

In addition to adding the Azure SDK BOM, we recommend also including the Azure SDK for Java build tool. This tool helps to diagnose many issues commonly encountered when building applications, as described previously in this article.

Include a package not in the BOM

The Azure SDK for Java client BOM includes only Generally Available (GA) libraries. If you want to depend on a package that is still in beta or on a library version different than the one included in the BOM, you can specify the Maven dependency version along with the groupId and artifactId in the dependency section. You can choose to have dependencies that use BOM versions and dependencies with overridden versions in the same project POM file, as shown in the following example:

<dependencies>
  <dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>azure-messaging-eventhubs</artifactId> <!-- Use the dependency version that is in the BOM -->
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>azure-messaging-servicebus</artifactId>
    <version>7.4.0</version> <!-- Override the Service Bus dependency version specified in the BOM -->
  </dependency>
</dependencies>

If you use this approach and specify versions directly in your project, you might get dependency version conflicts. These conflicts arise because different packages may depend on different versions of common dependencies, and these versions may not be compatible with each other. When conflicts occur, you can experience undesirable behavior at compile time or runtime. We recommend that you rely on versions that are in the Azure SDK BOM unless necessary. For more information on dealing with dependencies when using the Azure SDK for Java, see Troubleshoot dependency version conflicts.

Build a native image with GraalVM

You can use GraalVM to create a native image of a Java application. GraalVM compiles the Java code ahead of time into native machine code, which can yield drastic performance gains in certain situations. The Azure SDK for Java provides the necessary metadata in each of its client libraries to support GraalVM native image compilation.

To get started, you need to install GraalVM and prepare your development system for compiling native images. The installation process for GraalVM is straightforward, and the GraalVM documentation provides step-by-step instructions for installing GraalVM and using GraalVM to install native-image. Follow the prerequisites section carefully to install the necessary native compilers for your operating system.

The Azure SDK for Java Maven archetype can configure your build to support GraalVM native image compilation, but you can also add it to an existing Maven build. You can find instructions for Maven on the GraalVM website.

Next, you're ready to run a native image build. You can use standard Maven tooling to use GraalVM native image. For Maven, use the following command:

mvn clean package -Pnative

After you run this command, GraalVM outputs a native executable for the platform it's running on. The executable appears in the Maven /target directory of your project. You can now run your application with this executable file, and it should perform similarly to a standard Java application.

Next steps

Get started with Azure extensions for IntelliJ and Eclipse

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