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Method introduced in java 9 is compiled using compiler target java 8

I'm experiencing an odd behavior in maven as well as in eclipse itself.
Even though i configured my project to be compiled in Java 1.8, I can compile and run (eclipse) a piece of code that was introduced in Java 9
<maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
The code line in question:
LocalTime.ofInstant(cal.toInstant(), cal.getTimeZone().toZoneId());
I'm using Oracle's JDK 11 locally for compiling and running in eclipse without any errors. When i package it into a docker container using openjdk:8-jdk-alpine it will boot up, but throw the following Exception when I call the method:
java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: java.time.LocalTime.ofInstant(Ljava/time/Instant;Ljava/time/ZoneId;)Ljava/time/LocalTime
How can I avoid and identify these situations before they go to testing? Am I doing something wrong or is it a bug in the build system or in JDK11?
thanks in advance

The source option specifies that the source code must be compatible with Java 8, the target option that the classes should be compatible with Java 8. However, you will still compile with the Java 11 class library if you build with Java 11 and then you can get errors like the one you have.
There are two good solutions. One is to use the Maven toolchains plugin and build with Java 8. Then you can have multiple Java versions installed and Maven will use the configured one on a per-project basis.
The other is to use the new release and testRelease options. They will build with API classes from the given release. Just add <release>1.8</release>.

If you are using JDK 11, configure your maven pom.xml like that:
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.8.0</version>
<configuration>
<source>1.8</source>
<target>1.8</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
<version>2.5.3</version>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>

Compile error when doing Maven install

I was trying to install the dependency packages into my location maven repository with running mvn clean install from my maven project.
But unfortunately. I got a compile error for some source files which said :annotations are not supported in -source 1.3(use -source 5 or higher to enable annotations)#override.
After researching. I found I need to specify the source version of my maven project.
So I add the following configuration in the POM.
<build>
<defaultGoal>install</defaultGoal>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<source>1.6</source>
<target>1.6</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
Actually. It does work fine. But what makes me confused is where does the JDK1.6 comes from and make the Maven compile work ? I didn't have the JDK1.6 install in my computer(Currently, the available JDK installed in my computer is JDK1.8), Thanks.

Later versions of Java allow you to compile your program as earlier versions. Since you have Java 8 installed you can compile your program as a Java 6 one that will run on a machine with only the 1.6 JRE. The limitation is that you can't use any of the language features added in the Java 7 and 8 releases.

Specifying Java version in maven - differences between properties and compiler plugin

I'm not very experienced with Maven and while experimenting with multi-module project I started wondering how can I specify Java version for all my child modules in parent Maven pom. Until today I was using just:
<properties>
<java.version>1.8</java.version>
</properties>
...but when researching I found that you can also specify Java version in Maven compiler plugin, like that:
<plugins>
<plugin>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<source>1.8</source>
<target>1.8</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
And then wrap this into plugin management tag to enable child poms usage of this. So the first question is this:
What are the differences beetwen setting Java version in properties and in Maven compiler plugin?
I couldn't find clear answer but in process of researching I found that you can also specify Java version in this way:
<properties>
<maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
</properties>
...which suggest that compiler plugin is there even if I don't explicit declare it. Running mvn package outputs with
maven-compiler-plugin:3.1:compile (default-compile) # testproj ---
...and some other plugins that I didn't declare.
So are those plugins default, hidden part of Maven pom? Are there any differences between setting source/target in properties and in Maven plugin configuration element?
Some other questions are - which way should be used (and when if they are not equal)? Which one is best for multi-module project and what happens if Java version specified in pom is different than version pointed in JAVA_HOME?

How to specify the JDK version?
Use any of three ways: (1) Spring Boot feature, or use Maven compiler plugin with either (2) source & target or (3) with release.
Spring Boot
<java.version> is not referenced in the Maven documentation.
It is a Spring Boot specificity.
It allows to set the source and the target java version with the same version such as this one to specify java 1.8 for both :
1.8
Feel free to use it if you use Spring Boot.
maven-compiler-plugin with source & target
Using maven-compiler-plugin or maven.compiler.source/maven.compiler.target properties are equivalent.
That is indeed :
<plugins>
<plugin>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<source>1.8</source>
<target>1.8</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
is equivalent to :
<properties>
<maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
</properties>
according to the Maven documentation of the compiler plugin
since the <source> and the <target> elements in the compiler configuration use the properties maven.compiler.source and maven.compiler.target if they are defined.
source
The -source argument for the Java compiler.
NOTE: Since 3.8.0 the default value has changed from 1.5 to 1.6. Since 3.9.0 the default value has changed from 1.6 to 1.7
Default value is: 1.7.
User property is: maven.compiler.source.
target
The -target argument for the Java compiler.
NOTE: Since 3.8.0 the default value has changed from 1.5 to 1.6. Since 3.9.0 the default value has changed from 1.6 to 1.7
Default value is: 1.6.
User property is: maven.compiler.target.
About the default values for source and target, note that
since the 3.8.0 of the maven compiler, the default values have changed from 1.5 to 1.6.
maven-compiler-plugin with release instead of source & target
The maven-compiler-plugin 3.6 and later versions provide a new way :
org.apache.maven.plugins
maven-compiler-plugin
3.8.0
9
You could also declare just :
<properties>
<maven.compiler.release>9</maven.compiler.release>
</properties>
But at this time it will not work as the maven-compiler-plugin default version you use doesn't rely on a recent enough version.
The Maven release argument conveys release : a new JVM standard option that we could pass from Java 9 :
Compiles against the public, supported and documented API for a
specific VM version.
This way provides a standard way to specify the same version for the source, the target and the bootstrap JVM options.
Note that specifying the bootstrap is a good practice for cross compilations and it will not hurt if you don't make cross compilations either.
Which is the best way to specify the JDK version?
The first way (<java.version>) is allowed only if you use Spring Boot.
For Java 8 and below :
About the two other ways : valuing the maven.compiler.source/maven.compiler.target properties or using the maven-compiler-plugin, you can use one or the other. It changes nothing in the facts since finally the two solutions rely on the same properties and the same mechanism : the maven core compiler plugin.
Well, if you don't need to specify other properties or behavior than Java versions in the compiler plugin, using this way makes more sense as this is more concise:
<properties>
<maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
</properties>
From Java 9 :
The release argument (third point) is a way to strongly consider if you want to use the same version for the source and the target.
What happens if the version differs between the JDK in JAVA_HOME and which one specified in the pom.xml?
It is not a problem if the JDK referenced by the JAVA_HOME is compatible with the version specified in the pom but to ensure a better cross-compilation compatibility think about adding the bootstrap JVM option with as value the path of the rt.jar of the target version.
An important thing to consider is that the source and the target version in the Maven configuration should not be superior to the JDK version referenced by the JAVA_HOME.
A older version of the JDK cannot compile with a more recent version since it doesn't know its specification.
To get information about the source, target and release supported versions according to the used JDK, please refer to java compilation : source, target and release supported versions.
How handle the case of JDK referenced by the JAVA_HOME is not compatible with the java target and/or source versions specified in the pom?
For example, if your JAVA_HOME refers to a JDK 1.7 and you specify a JDK 1.8 as source and target in the compiler configuration of your pom.xml, it will be a problem because as explained, the JDK 1.7 doesn't know how to compile with.
From its point of view, it is an unknown JDK version since it was released after it.
In this case, you should configure the Maven compiler plugin to specify the JDK in this way :
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<source>1.8</source>
<target>1.8</target>
<compilerVersion>1.8</compilerVersion>
<fork>true</fork>
<executable>D:\jdk1.8\bin\javac</executable>
</configuration>
</plugin>
You could have more details in examples with maven compiler plugin.
It is not asked but cases where that may be more complicated is when you specify source but not target. It may use a different version in target according to the source version. Rules are particular : you can read about them in the Cross-Compilation Options part.
Why the compiler plugin is traced in the output at the execution of the Maven package goal even if you don't specify it in the pom.xml?
To compile your code and more generally to perform all tasks required for a maven goal, Maven needs tools. So, it uses core Maven plugins (you recognize a core Maven plugin by its groupId : org.apache.maven.plugins) to do the required tasks : compiler plugin for compiling classes, test plugin for executing tests, and so for... So, even if you don't declare these plugins, they are bound to the execution of the Maven lifecycle.
At the root dir of your Maven project, you can run the command : mvn help:effective-pom to get the final pom effectively used. You could see among other information, attached plugins by Maven (specified or not in your pom.xml), with the used version, their configuration and the executed goals for each phase of the lifecycle.
In the output of the mvn help:effective-pom command, you could see the declaration of these core plugins in the <build><plugins> element, for example :
...
<plugin>
<artifactId>maven-clean-plugin</artifactId>
<version>2.5</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>default-clean</id>
<phase>clean</phase>
<goals>
<goal>clean</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
<plugin>
<artifactId>maven-resources-plugin</artifactId>
<version>2.6</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>default-testResources</id>
<phase>process-test-resources</phase>
<goals>
<goal>testResources</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
<execution>
<id>default-resources</id>
<phase>process-resources</phase>
<goals>
<goal>resources</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
<plugin>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.1</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>default-compile</id>
<phase>compile</phase>
<goals>
<goal>compile</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
<execution>
<id>default-testCompile</id>
<phase>test-compile</phase>
<goals>
<goal>testCompile</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
...
You can have more information about it in the introduction of the Maven lifeycle in the Maven documentation.
Nevertheless, you can declare these plugins when you want to configure them with other values as default values (for example, you did it when you declared the maven-compiler plugin in your pom.xml to adjust the JDK version to use) or when you want to add some plugin executions not used by default in the Maven lifecycle.

None of the solutions above worked for me straight away. So I followed these steps:
Add in pom.xml:
<properties>
<maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
<maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
</properties>
Go to Project Properties > Java Build Path, then remove the JRE
System Library pointing to JRE1.5.
Force updated the project.

The below steps work for me like charm! so thought to share with everyone.
These are the lines i added in the pom.xml file to work with a basic project. I am using Java 12 (you can replace yours 11, 10, 1.8 etc).
<properties>
<maven.compiler.source>12</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>12</maven.compiler.target>
</properties>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.8.1</version>
<configuration>
<release>12</release>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
After changing the pom file please reload your project so that IDE can download/fetch the plugin to the project. (For IntelijIDEA: Right-click on pom.xml -> Go to maven -> Reload project).
please make sure to configure the desire version in your IDE as well.

if you are using IntelliJ idea maven build.

Consider the alternative:
<properties>
<javac.src.version>1.8</javac.src.version>
<javac.target.version>1.8</javac.target.version>
</properties>
It should be the same thing of maven.compiler.source/maven.compiler.target but the above solution works for me, otherwise the second one gets the parent specification (I have a matrioska of .pom)

For NetBeans IDE, changing project properties - (Jersey Service) - Categories > Sources >
Selected 'Source/Binary Format' as 1.8.

Eclipse JRE System Library [J2SE-1.5]

I'm using Eclipse EE 3.7 with m2e plugin installed. I have JDK7 set in eclipse.
When I import maven projects, the JRE is set to JRE System Library [J2SE-1.5], So i have compilation issues with java 6 related stuff. Instead I want the JRE in eclipse to be by default set to JRE System Library [J2SE-1.6]
When i try to open a new project in eclipse File -> new -> Java project on the first screen i have an option to choose JRE and the third option is Use default JRE (currently 'jdk1.7.0_03')
From this i can see that the default JRE in Eclipse is 1.7, but when i import new Maven projects, the JRE is set to 1.5 by default.
Any help, how can i do this?

The problem is not with Eclipse, but with the projects you're importing. m2e will set the project's JRE to match the maven project. The POM specifies the JRE version, and this is defaulted to 1.5 if not present. You need this in the POM:
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.0</version>
<configuration>
<source>1.7</source>
<target>1.7</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>

artbristol gave the correct answer (and I upvoted him).
That was in 2012. Here is an update more appropriate for today (2016, Java 8, Spring 4.x/Servlet 3.x):
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.0</version>
<configuration>
<source>1.7</source>
<target>1.7</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>

The root cause of this issue is Eclipse cannot resolve a valid value for the maven.compiler.source property when updating the .classpath file from the pom, it is simply using default one i.e
org.eclipse.jdt.launching.JRE_CONTAINER/org.eclipse.jdt.internal.debug.ui.launcher.StandardVMType/J2SE-1.5.
Just Add following properties into you pom.xml and update project:
<properties>
<javaVersion>1.8</javaVersion>
<maven.compiler.source>${java.version}</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>${java.version}</maven.compiler.target>
</properties>

You can have your brand new Maven project in Eclipse have JRE System Library version other than JavaSE-1.5. For that,find below jar in the following location.
File: maven-compiler-plugin-3.1.jar
Location:
.m2\repository\org\apache\maven\plugins\maven-compiler-plugin\3.1
Then unzip the jar and locate "META-INF\maven\plugin.xml" which has four occurrences of default-value="1.5". Replace all four 1.5 with 1.8 or whatever the version you want. You would know the rest of the process.
Reference

Does Maven really honor the <source> tag in the compiler plugin?

I work on a Java program that should be compatibe with Java 5. I had #Override annotations on implemented interface methods which is allowed in Java 6, but not in 5. I use a Java 6 SDK. Eclipse correctly gives error messages on the #Override when I set it to 5.0 compliance. My Maven build, however, runs without even a warning, using the following settings in my POM:
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<source>1.5</source>
<target>1.5</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
Am I correct in expecting that this should actually make the build fail? Why doesn't it, and is there something I can do?

This is actually a JDK problem, not a Maven problem. The #Override annotation is not failing with a -source 1.5 flag to to a 1.6 javac. Go ahead and try it. The only way to make it fail, is, unfortunately, to use a 1.5 javac.
Sorry, HTH.
EDIT
I ran into this problem myself, and I also wondered if it's actually looking at the setting in the pom. Turning on debug output (-X I believe, was a while ago) will print the javac command line to the standard output, and you'll see that it is indeed using the -source 1.5 parameter.

As roe's answer says you need to use a 1.5 compiler because the JDK isn't doing its job quite right. It's worth pointing out that you can avoid messing about with paths etc. by tweaking the maven-compiler-plugin configuration to use a specific compiler:
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<verbose>true</verbose>
<fork>true</fork>
<executable>${JAVA_1_5_HOME}/bin/javac</executable>
<compilerVersion>1.5</compilerVersion>
</configuration>
</plugin>
...
</plugins>
You can then specify the path to the compiler in your project or settings.xml
<properties>
<JAVA_1_5_HOME>/path/to/1.5jdk</JAVA_1_5_HOME>
</properties>