# MapStruct - Java bean mappings, the easy way!
_Version: 1.0.0.Beta3, November 27th 2014_
## What is MapStruct?
MapStruct is a Java [annotation processor](http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/technotes/guides/apt/index.html) for the generation of type-safe bean mapping classes.
All you have to do is to define a mapper interface which declares any required mapping methods. During compilation, MapStruct will generate an implementation of this interface. This implementation uses plain Java method invocations for mapping between source and target objects, i.e. no reflection or similar.
Compared to writing mapping code from hand, MapStruct saves time by generating code which is tedious and error-prone to write. Following a convention over configuration approach, MapStruct uses sensible defaults but steps out of your way when it comes to configuring or implementing special behavior.
Compared to dynamic mapping frameworks, MapStruct offers the following advantages:
* Fast execution by using plain method invocations instead of reflection
* Compile-time type safety: Only objects and attributes mapping to each other can be mapped, no accidental mapping of an order entity into a customer DTO etc.
* Self-contained code, no runtime dependencies
* Clear error-reports at build time, if entities or attributes can't be mapped
## Documentation and getting help
To learn more about MapStruct in two minutes, refer to the [project homepage](http://mapstruct.org). The [reference documentation](http://mapstruct.org/documentation) covers all provided functionality in detail. If you need help, come and join the [mapstruct-users](https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/mapstruct-users) group.
## Requirements
MapStruct requires Java 1.6 or later.
## Using MapStruct
MapStruct is a Java annotation processor based on [JSR 269](jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=269) and as such can be used within command line builds (javac, Ant, Maven etc.) as well as from within your IDE.
For Maven based projects add the following to your POM file in order to use MapStruct (the dependencies can be obtained from Maven Central):
```xml
...