Maven Coordinates: groupId, artifactId, version (GAV)

Maven coordinates are the unique identifier for any library or module in the Maven world. They're written as three parts: groupId colon artifactId colon version, like org dot springframework dot boot colon spring-boot-starter-web colon 3.2.0. The groupId is the organization namespace using reverse-domain format — it's like the publisher of the library. For example, org dot springframework means it's published by the Spring team. The artifactId is the specific module name within that organization, so spring-boot-starter-web is one particular library they publish. The version selects the artifact version using the producer's versioning scheme. When you add a dependency to your pom dot XML, you specify these three pieces and Maven uses them to find and download the right JAR file. The coordinates solve a critical problem: two different companies could both have a library called utils, but com dot google colon utils and com dot company colon utils are completely different artifacts that won't collide. Maven converts coordinates into file paths — the groupId becomes nested directories, then artifactId, then version. One mistake freshers make is using random groupIds like my dot project instead of proper reverse-domain names. When you publish to Maven Central, you have to prove you own that domain, so always use something like io dot github dot yourusername if you don't have a company domain.