Update: Always specify a version for Maven2 plugins

I previously wrote about specifying a release version for maven plugins in your POM files to have a more stable build and stop depending on SNAPSHOT plugin dependencies. It now seems with the latest version of maven2, version 2.0.9, that maven now comes with release versions for all the commons plugins (see the release notes).

"MNG-3395 - Starting in 2.0.9, we have provided defaults in the super pom for the plugins bound by default to the lifecycle and a few other often used plugins. This will introduce a bit of stability to your builds because core plugins will not change magically on you when they are released. We still recommend taking control of your plugin versions via pluginManagement declarations as this is the most robust way to future proof your builds. Defaulting the plugins in the superpom was a step towards introducing stability for small builds and new users. A full table of the versions used is shown in the next section."

Note how they still recommend specifying release versions in the pluginManagement section of your POM.