Apache Ivy vs Composer
Apache Ivy
ant.apache.orgComposer
getcomposer.orgSide by side
| Figure | Apache Ivy | Composer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Package Managers | 8.1 (#32) | 8.9 (#5) |
| Dependency resolution | Ivy manages transitive dependencies and provides configurable conflict management to select versions. | Composer determines which package versions need to be installed and can update all dependencies in one command. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache Ivy is free and open source under the Apache License, Version 2.0. | Composer and the content on its site are released under the MIT license. |
| Package formats | Ivy files,Maven POMs,OSGi bundles | PHP packages; ZIP; TAR; VCS repositories |
| Private registry auth | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose | Apache Ivy manages project dependencies by recording, tracking, resolving, and reporting them. | Composer is a tool for managing PHP project dependencies, installing and updating the libraries a project declares. |
| Support | The project directs users to its mailing lists for help and its issue tracker for bug reports. | The project says commercial support and consulting are available through its sponsorship page. |
| Supported platforms | Java/JRE | PHP; Windows; Linux; macOS |
Plans
In their own words
Apache Ivy
Apache Ivy has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Composer
Composer manages dependencies for PHP projects, installing and updating the libraries each project declares. By default, it keeps those dependencies in a directory within the project, and it can also manage a global project. It resolves dependencies and supports lockfiles, workspaces, private registry authentication, and offline installation. Packagist is its default package source; custom Composer, version-control, and local-path repositories are also supported. Composer integrates with Fossil, Git, Mercurial, Perforce, and Subversion. It can be installed locally or as a system-wide executable on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The latest version requires PHP 7.2.5 or later; the 2.2.x LTS line supports PHP 5.3.2 and later. Its audit command checks installed packages for security advisories, abandoned packages, malware flags, and other dependency policies. Composer is free under the MIT license. Plugins and scripts can run with the user's permissions, so the project advises against running Composer as root with untrusted packages.