[FIXED] Change maven default java compliance level for new projects

Issue

I am using Eclipse IDE 2020-03. Whenever I created a maven project its default java compliance level is always 1.7. My JDK version is 11.

It is possible to set java compliance to 11 manually by following.

<properties>
    <maven.compiler.source>11</maven.compiler.source>
    <maven.compiler.target>11</maven.compiler.target>
</properties>
<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.8.0</version>
    <configuration>
        <release>11</release>
    </configuration>
</plugin>

My concern is that I have to set this configuration everytime I create a new maven project.

Is there any solution where default java compliance of new maven project is set to my JDK version (here JDK 11) installed in my system?

Also I need some guidance about if I want to send this maven project whose JDK is 11 to other system where the JDK version is 8, will it work on other system?

Solution

The Java version you compile for needs to be set somewhere in your POM.

If you have many projects, you can create a parent POM for all of those from which you inherit.

If the level is greater than the installed JDK (say you want to compile for Java 11 on a JDK1.8), the build will fail.

On the other hand, it is fine to e.g. compile for Java 11 with a JDK 14.

Answered By - J Fabian Meier
Answer Checked By - Candace Johnson (JavaFixing Volunteer)