Unable to compile simple Java 10 / Java 11 project

Question

I have a trivial Maven project:

src
└── main
    └── java
        └── module-info.java
pom.xml

pom.xml:

<groupId>org.example</groupId>
<artifactId>example</artifactId>
<version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
<packaging>jar</packaging>
<name>example</name>

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
            <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
            <version>3.7.0</version>
            <configuration>
                <release>10</release>
            </configuration>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

When I build the project via mvn -X install -DskipTests=true, it fails:

org.apache.maven.lifecycle.LifecycleExecutionException: Failed to execute goal org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-compiler-plugin:3.7.0:testCompile (default-testCompile) on project example: Execution default-testCompile of goal org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-compiler-plugin:3.7.0:testCompile failed.
        at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute(MojoExecutor.java:213)
        at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute(MojoExecutor.java:154)
        at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute(MojoExecutor.java:146)
        at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleModuleBuilder.buildProject(LifecycleModuleBuilder.java:117)
        at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleModuleBuilder.buildProject(LifecycleModuleBuilder.java:81)
        at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.builder.singlethreaded.SingleThreadedBuilder.build(SingleThreadedBuilder.java:51)
        at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleStarter.execute(LifecycleStarter.java:128)
        at org.apache.maven.DefaultMaven.doExecute(DefaultMaven.java:309)
        at org.apache.maven.DefaultMaven.doExecute(DefaultMaven.java:194)
        at org.apache.maven.DefaultMaven.execute(DefaultMaven.java:107)
        at org.apache.maven.cli.MavenCli.execute(MavenCli.java:993)
        at org.apache.maven.cli.MavenCli.doMain(MavenCli.java:345)
        at org.apache.maven.cli.MavenCli.main(MavenCli.java:191)
        at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
        at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
        at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
        at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:564)
        at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.launchEnhanced(Launcher.java:289)
        at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.launch(Launcher.java:229)
        at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.mainWithExitCode(Launcher.java:415)
        at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:356)
Caused by: org.apache.maven.plugin.PluginExecutionException: Execution default-testCompile of goal org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-compiler-plugin:3.7.0:testCompile failed.
        at org.apache.maven.plugin.DefaultBuildPluginManager.executeMojo(DefaultBuildPluginManager.java:145)
        at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute(MojoExecutor.java:208)
        ... 20 more
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException
        at org.objectweb.asm.ClassReader.<init>(Unknown Source)
        at org.objectweb.asm.ClassReader.<init>(Unknown Source)
        at org.objectweb.asm.ClassReader.<init>(Unknown Source)
        at org.codehaus.plexus.languages.java.jpms.AsmModuleInfoParser.parse(AsmModuleInfoParser.java:80)
        at org.codehaus.plexus.languages.java.jpms.AsmModuleInfoParser.getModuleDescriptor(AsmModuleInfoParser.java:54)
        at org.codehaus.plexus.languages.java.jpms.LocationManager.resolvePaths(LocationManager.java:83)
        at org.apache.maven.plugin.compiler.TestCompilerMojo.preparePaths(TestCompilerMojo.java:281)
        at org.apache.maven.plugin.compiler.AbstractCompilerMojo.execute(AbstractCompilerMojo.java:762)
        at org.apache.maven.plugin.compiler.TestCompilerMojo.execute(TestCompilerMojo.java:176)
        at org.apache.maven.plugin.DefaultBuildPluginManager.executeMojo(DefaultBuildPluginManager.java:134)
        ... 21 more

Is there a way to fix this?

Answer 1

maven-compiler-plugin depends on the old version of ASM which does not support Java 10 (and Java 11) yet. However, it is possible to explicitly specify the right version of ASM:

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.7.0</version>
    <configuration>
        <release>10</release>
    </configuration>
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.ow2.asm</groupId>
            <artifactId>asm</artifactId>
            <version>6.2</version> <!-- Use newer version of ASM -->
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
</plugin>

You can find the latest at https://search.maven.org/search?q=g:org.ow2.asm%20AND%20a:asm&core=gav

UPDATE

The answer is now obsolete. See this answer.

Answer 2

Boosting your maven-compiler-plugin to 3.8.0 seems to be necessary but not sufficient. If you're still having problems, you should also make sure your JAVA_HOME environment variable is set to Java 10 (or 11) if you're running from the command line. (The error message you get won't tell you this.) Or if you're running from an IDE, you need to make sure it is set to run maven with your current JDK.

Answer 3

Alternatively, as of 30Jul, 2018 to fix the above issue, one can configure the java version used within maven to any up to JDK/11 and make use of the maven-compiler-plugin:3.8.0 to specify a release of either 9,10,11 without any explicit dependencies.

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.8.0</version>
    <configuration>
        <release>11</release>  or <!--<release>10</release>-->
    </configuration>
</plugin>

Note:- The default value for source/target has been lifted from 1.5 to 1.6 with this version. -- release notes.

---

Edit [30.12.2018]

In fact, you can make use of the same version of maven-compiler-plugin while compiling the code against JDK/12 as well. Have shared more details and a sample configuration in how to Compile a JDK12 preview feature with Maven.