Allow pom-configurable module file names

[OliverO2]

It would be practical to have module file names configurable in the pom.xml to support this use case:

• A pom defines a "dev" profile used for development builds.
• To save compilation time, a "dev" build should limit GWT compilation to just one target (say, chrome/safari).
• This can be achieved by having a separate module file "${module}_dev.gwt.xml" which inherits from the original "${module}.gwt.xml" and adds a line <set-property name="user.agent" value="safari"/>.
• For a complete example, see gwt-maven-archetypes/guice-rf-activities/client

The configuration might look like <module>${moduleName}</module> as was the case in the codehaus gwt-maven-plugin.

[tbroyer]

Actually, I think it's already possible:

<plugin>
  <groupId>net.ltgt.gwt.maven</groupId>
  <artifactId>gwt-maven-plugin</artifactId>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <id>default-compile</id>
      <configuration>
        <moduleName>it.test.E2E_dev</moduleName>
      </configuration>
    </execution>
  </executions>
</plugin>

(in a profile)

See http://maven.apache.org/guides/mini/guide-default-execution-ids.html

With a file src/main/resources/it/test/E2E_dev.gwt.xml (or something similar, e.g. a src/main/modules configured as a <resource> with a <targetPath>it/test</targetPath>) like:

<module rename-to='e2e'>
  <inherits name='it.test.E2E' />

  <set-property name='user.agent' value='safari' />
</module>

(you could also use filtering instead of hard-coding the rename-to and name values)

I'll reopen the issue if that doesn't work.

Of course, you could also just have a module in your tree with a <set-property name='user.agent' value='${gwt.user.agent}' />, inherited in your src/main/module.gwt.xml, and use filtering (with your gwt.user.agent property defaulting to, e.g., ie8,ie9,gecko1_8,safari)

…or simply not use generate-module (set <skipModule>true</skipModule> in the plugin's configuration)
…or even use filtering directly on the moduleTemplate (it defaults to src/main/module.gwt.xml but is configurable)

I don't really want to encourage this as it goes against The Maven Way™ of not varying the produced artifact. It should be possible, because alternatives are impractical at best (ideally, you should have a distinct Maven module specific to your user.agent=safari compilation), but it shouldn't be too easy or built-in.

[OliverO2]

You are right, your default-compile configuration works as you expected.

What actually puzzles me is this:

• If I set moduleName to the module's real name like "it.test.E2E", the plugin seems to infer that the GWT configuration must be in a file named "module.gwt.xml" (literally). If "module.gwt.xml" doesn't exist, the plugin doesn't complain, but if a module configuration is present in a file named "it.test.E2E.gwt.xml", it is ignored.
• In contrast, if moduleName is set to something different like "it.test.E2E_draft", that name is used as is, just appended with ".gwt.xml".

Otherwise I agree that having two different profile-dependent artifacts ending up in the same target directory is not the best solution as it requires "mvn clean" when switching configurations.

[tbroyer]

The problem is lack of documentation.

moduleName is used in many goals:

• generate-module-metadata for gwt-lib packaging,

• compile for gwt-app packaging,

• and

  • add-super-sources (when relocateSuperSources is set to true),
  • add-test-super-sources (when relocateTestSuperSources is set to true) and
  • generate-module

  for gwt-lib and gwt-app packagings.

generate-module uses moduleName as its output, overwriting any such file that could be present in the project resources.
All other goals use moduleName as their input, looking for a file with the appropriate name or assuming one is present.

[OliverO2]

Ah, I see, thanks for clarifying.