In maven child pom dependencies are not taking version from parent pom dependencies if they are mentioned in a profile

Question

I have a multi-module project, and I am using profiles in the parent pom , which have specific dependencies mentioned in them. The issue here is that, if in a child pom , I am overriding the dependency element, and mentioning one of the dependencies in the parent pom (which is declared in a profile in parent pom) , the version of that specific dependency needs to be mentioned again.

E.g Parent pom

<dependencies>
   <dependency>
      <groupId>com.mycode.apps</groupId>
      <artifactId>jobs</artifactId>
      <version>4</version>   
   </dependency>
</dependencies>
<profiles>
<profile>
    <id>common-dependencies</id>
<activation>
    <activeByDefault>true</activeByDefault>
</activation>
    <dependencies>
       <dependency>
          <groupId>com.mycode.apps</groupId>
          <artifactId>dao</artifactId>
          <version>4</version>   
       </dependency>
    </dependencies>
</profile>
</profiles>

Now in child pom.xml

<dependencies>
       <!--this one doesnt need a version specified -->
       <dependency>
          <groupId>com.mycode.apps</groupId>
          <artifactId>jobs</artifactId>
       </dependency>
       <!--this one makes maven throw an error(if version is not specified) while compilation -->
       <dependency>
          <groupId>com.mycode.apps</groupId>
          <artifactId>dao</artifactId>
       </dependency>
</dependencies>

Any idea what might be wrong and how can I fix this??

NOTE: The profile is marked as activeByDefault

Answer 1

For this kind of requirments you the dependencyManagement which is exactly for such cases. Or take look into the Sonatype Book. This case shouldn't be handled by profiles.