How can I maintain an empty Java EE Enterprise Application project in Netbeans with users?

Question

I have created a basic Java EE project in Netbeans with some standard features that I use in every project. Ie

• I have used a mysql database with some basic tables for users and groups.
• I have used JAAS security and created new realm.
• I have made a new persistence unit on this db
• I have created some basic beans for the login
• I have added primefaces as jsf lib
• I have created some basic menu and a basic form for manage users.

All these features above are needed for every project that I do and I trying to find a way to skip redoing it all these from scratch.

I have tried 2 ways. The first was to copy all project directory and trying to rename only the changes. I must confess that it was a disaster. The other try was to create a new project an try to copy things from one project to another.

I am seeking for a solution that will make me have a project with the above minimum functionality and I should only change the database connection and project name.

Answer 1

Maven archetypes may provide a solution. They provide a starting point for projects. Just started using them myself to build projects in Eclipse. You can create your own archetypes to be used within your team. A couple of references below:

guide-creating-archetypes

creating-maven-web-application