To create the webapp using Maven you need to specify the DarchetypeArtifactId as being a webapp. In your command line you will type the following:

mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeArtifactId=maven-archetype-webapp

The webapp structure will be created in the directory called my-webapp.

The next steps assume that you have installed the Maven plugin for Eclipse (m2e).

Open Eclipse and from the “File” menu select “Import…” and in the window that opens up find the Maven folder and select “Existing Maven Projects”.
Browse to the directory where you created my-webapp and the pom.xml file is located, in this example that is /workspaces/my-webapp. and click the “Finish” button to complete the import.

Your project will now appear in Eclipse and you can edit and add source files as you need.

You can run Maven install to let Maven compile your code and put it in the target directory:

If you want to run the application through Eclipse and you’ve already setup your server, then you need to perform some additional steps to make sure that Eclipse will allow you to run the application from the server.

Firstly you will need to convert the project to a faceted form:

Secondly you will need to add “Dynamic Web Module” in Project Facets and make sure to check the “Further configuration options” and set the Content Directory to the target directory where Maven has placed your compiled code:

And that’s it, you should now be able to add the output of you project to your server and run it from Eclipse!

We believe that each approach has its merits and much depends on the application that needs to development and whether the client has a clear vision off their requirements or not.

If the client has a clear vision then there is great advantage in doing an upfront design of the entire system, like the waterfall approach suggests, but not going into the level of detail this approach needs. This provides our team with a clear understanding of what the client wants and gives us the opportunity to accurately estimate the costs that will be involved in creating the application. But it is important to note that even when we have done an upfront design, we still split the project in small sprints and involve the client in each step, because we have learned that even the most clear “visioned” client will still require changes along the way…

Once we know what the client wants (either the entire application, or just a part of it) the we start developing the software in small incremental “batches” referred to as sprints in the agile world. After each sprint – which take from one week to a month – the client is presented with the newly completed features that were developed during that sprint. After discussing the changes with the client it is decided which features will be implemented during the next sprint or if a change is required to the design. Once that is done the next sprint starts and the process repeats itself until the final product is delivered.

Here at VR Software we realize that communication is essential, not only between team members, but also between our team and our clients.  Unlike a lot of software development companies we do not just involve you in the design phase, where plans are made as to what the application must do and look like, but we keep you in the loop and ask for feedback even while we are developing the application.  This ensures that problems are identified and fixed as early as possible, instead of waiting for the final product to be delivered.

The result of this approach is that the application that you get is exactly what you need, because you’ve been involved every step of the way.  If you see somewhere during the development process, that your processes could be adapted to a much simpler approach, we can immediately change track and implement it that way.  This way we don’t waste time developing feature that are not optimal, and you don’t incur extra costs because as we don’t necessarily see the change as “scope creep” like other software development companies would.

And the best part is that we don’t stop communicating with you once we deliver the product.  We stay involved to help your users, add additional functions as you need them and make sure that everything is running smoothly.   We want our clients to stay with us and grow with us.  We are passionate about software development and we want you to be passionate about our products!