apache / apache/maven-dependency-plugin

[MDEP-437] Create symbolic links instead of physical copies

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#877 4 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
enhancement priority:major
Dominant language
Java
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175
Forks
196
Avg merge
19h 30m
Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

**[Markus Karg](https://issues.apache.org/jira/secure/ViewProfile.jspa?name=mkarg)** opened **[MDEP-437](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MDEP-437?redirect=false)** and commented

When copying lots of resources, especially huge ones (e. g. we are dealing with two gigabytes (!) split up into several 100 MB large binaries) it is tedious to wait until the copy task has performed real physical copies...

Since JRE 7 Java (which is public for years meanwhile) can deal with symbolic links, it would be really cool if one could add a \true\ configuration option, so the plugin could simply go the fast lane and use symbolic links instead of physical copies.

For backwards compatibility unfortunately the default has to be "false". :-(

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**Affects:** 3.1.2

**Remote Links:**
- [GitHub Pull Request #87
](https://github.com/apache/maven-dependency-plugin/pull/87)

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

Research direction

Start by reviewing the linked GitHub Pull Request #87 and the Maven dependency plugin code it changes. Verify how the proposed symlink option is configured, how the default preserves physical copying, and whether the PR includes coverage for both behaviors.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
build-system
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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