Maven is a Java project management and project comprehension tool.  Maven is
based on the concept of a project object model (POM) in that all the artifacts
produced by Maven are a result of consulting a well defined model for your
project.  Builds, documentation, source metrics, and source cross-references
are all controlled by your POM.

The intent of Maven is to make intra-project development highly manageable in
the hopes of providing more time for cross-project development.  You might call
it cross-project pollination or the sharing of project development knowledge,
this is what Maven attempts to encourage.

WWW: http://maven.apache.org/