Java compiles from command line but not from Maven - maven

Question

I have my system set up to compile jee6 code from the command line (no IDE). I recently tried to compile some code that uses javax.enterprise.context.RequestedScope. The code compiled fine from the command prompt but when I tried to build the application using Maven I keep getting javax.enterprise.context package not found error.
What gives? I thought Maven was using the same javac I'm using. Why can javac find the package but Maven can't? Do I need to add dependencies for java packages?
Or...is there a way to tell Maven to use the current class files when building or does Maven have to compile when it builds?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Try adding the Java EE 6 jar to your Maven dependencies:
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
. . .
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>javax</groupId>
<artifactId>javaee-api</artifactId>
<version>6.0</version>
<scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
</project>
This will add the Java EE classes to your compile-time classpath.

Answer 2

To compile your code with Maven, you need to tell it where to find required components.
Looks like you need to add this to your dependencies:
<dependency>
<groupId>javax</groupId>
<artifactId>javaee-endorsed-api</artifactId>
<version>6.0</version>
<scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>
Note the <scope> element. It tells Maven not to bundle this dependency with your artifact, because at run time it will be provided by the application container.
On the reason why it compiles from the command line.
You probably have the required jar file on the command line -cp option or in your global CLASSPATH variable.
Maven, by design, does not pay attention to the global CLASSPATH.