and the distribution of digital products.
Tired of Slow Maven Builds? You Might Want to Try MVND
If you’ve ever found yourself drumming your fingers on your desk, waiting for a Maven build to complete, you’re not alone. Build times can be a significant bottleneck in development workflows, especially for large projects. MVND, the Maven Daemon, is a game-changing tool that’s set to revolutionize your build process.
\ The Maven Daemon is an initiative by the Apache Maven team. At its core, MVND is designed to do one thing: make your Maven builds faster. By keeping a JVM warm and reusing it across builds, MVND eliminates the overhead of starting up a new JVM for each build, resulting in significant time savings.
\ But speed isn’t the only trick up MVND’s sleeve. It brings other benefits to the table:
- Lightning-fast startup times
- Smart caching mechanisms
- Parallel project-building capabilities
- Reduced memory footprint
\ I won’t bore you with installation manuals or configuration minutiae in this article, as the official documentation does an excellent job of covering those details. Instead, we’ll focus on real-world examples to see MVND in action. We’ll measure its performance, compare it to traditional builds, and showcase how it truly shines. Whether you’re working on a small, straightforward project or a large, intricate multi-module system, by the end of this article, you’ll see why MVND is an essential addition to your development workflow.
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Real-World Performance: Maven vs. MVND Build TimesTo truly understand the impact of MVND, let’s look at some real-world build times from two different projects. The data below compares the performance of MVND and traditional Maven builds, showcasing its tangible benefits.
Case Study 1: A Simple ProjectFor our first example, we use the Adobe AEM archetype repository², a standard multi-module project that serves as a de facto template for initializing AEM projects. This project is known for its quick build times, making it an excellent candidate for observing MVND's impact.
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- Maven Build Time: 34.669 seconds
- MVND Build Time: 20.816 seconds
\ MVND reduces the build time by approximately 40%, saving over 11 seconds. While some individual modules may show slightly longer build times with MVND, the overall efficiency gain is undeniable. This improvement is attributed to the MVND's ability to handle parallelism more effectively, optimizing the build process.
Case Study 2: A Complex ProjectOur second example is a complex, real-world project from one of my client’s production environments. This project, built using the AEM archetype, includes numerous unit tests for core (Java) and UI frontend (Node.js) code, with 697 Java tests and 799 Node.js tests.
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- Maven Build Time: 02:52 minutes
- MVND Build Time: 01:41 minutes
MVND showcases an impressive 41% reduction in build time, saving 71 seconds. Despite some modules taking slightly longer with MVND, the overall build time improvement is substantial. This suggests that MVND optimization strategies are particularly beneficial also in complex, multi-module projects.
ConclusionBy reusing JVM instances and optimizing parallel execution, MVND offers significant time savings across projects of all sizes. Whether working on a simple prototype or a complex enterprise application, MVND can streamline your build process, allowing you to focus on what matters most.
\ MVND stands out for three key reasons:
Faster Build Times: The examples above demonstrate a ~40% improvement in build times with MVND. While the exact gains may vary depending on your project’s size and complexity, you can expect consistent performance improvements across a wide range of projects, making MVND a reliable choice for speeding up your builds.
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Ease of Adoption: As a drop-in replacement for Maven by design, MVND requires minimal changes to your existing setup, making it effortless to integrate into your workflow.
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Credibility: Backed by the Apache Maven team, MVND is a reliable and well-supported tool that aligns with industry standards.
In a world where every second counts, MVND emerges as a game-changer for developers, empowering them to build faster, smarter, and more efficiently. With its proven ability to slash build times by up to 40%, MVND is a no-brainer for anyone looking to optimize their workflow and boost productivity.
\ But don’t just take my word for it — experience the difference yourself. Give MVND a try in your projects and witness firsthand how it transforms your build process. Whether you’re working on a small prototype or a large-scale enterprise application, MVND is the tool that helps you focus on what truly matters: delivering high-quality software, faster.