.
  .
  .
</plugins>

We need this form so that the model builder can make the first pass at merging. Full merging cannot be done because we don't know what the version of the plugin is yet that the user has requested. For plugins in the default lifecycle they are typically defined in the plugin management section of the parent POM. When the merging is complete we are going to have something that looks like the following:

<plugins>
  <plugin>

[well-formed commit message]: https://tbaggery.com/2008/04/19/a-note-about-git-commit-messages.html

#### Merging pull requests ####

Due to Guava's nature as a subset of Google's internal codebase which is
automatically synced to the public GitHub repository, we are unable to merge
pull requests directly into the master branch. Instead, once a pull request is
ready for merging, we'll make the appropriate changes in the internal codebase

     * (if applicable). This process will essentially remove duplicate repositories by merging them into one equivalent
     * repository. It is worth to point out that merging does not simply choose one of the input repositories and
     * discards the others but actually combines their possibly different policies.
     *

  </description>

  <build>
    <plugins>
      <!-- NOTE: It's essential part of this test variant to redefine the test plugin again, i.e. trigger plugin merging -->
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.its.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-it-plugin-log-file</artifactId>
        <version>2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>

import java.lang.annotation.Target;

/**
 * Signifies that a public API (public class, method or field) is subject to incompatible changes,
 * or even removal, in a future release. An API bearing this annotation is exempt from any
 * compatibility guarantees made by its containing library. Note that the presence of this
 * annotation implies nothing about the quality or performance of the API in question, only the fact

    <artifactId>parent-1</artifactId>
    <version>0.1</version>
  </parent>

  <artifactId>child-1</artifactId>

  <name>Maven Integration Test :: MNG-3937</name>
  <description>
    Test that during inheritance/merging of a plugin execution the goals specified by child and parent are properly
    ordered.
  </description>

  <build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.its.plugins</groupId>

  <artifactId>parent-2</artifactId>
  <version>0.1</version>
  <packaging>pom</packaging>

  <name>Maven Integration Test :: MNG-3937</name>
  <description>
    Test that during inheritance/merging of a plugin execution the goals specified by child and parent are properly
    ordered.
  </description>

  <build>
    <!-- This project uses plugin management for the test plugin -->
    <pluginManagement>

  // +optional
  optional bool ready = 1;

  // serving is identical to ready except that it is set regardless of the
  // terminating state of endpoints. This condition should be set to true for
  // a ready endpoint that is terminating. If nil, consumers should defer to
  // the ready condition.
  // +optional
  optional bool serving = 2;

  // terminating indicates that this endpoint is terminating. A nil value

  compileOptions {
    targetCompatibility(JavaVersion.VERSION_11)
    sourceCompatibility(JavaVersion.VERSION_11)
  }

  kotlinOptions {
    jvmTarget = JavaVersion.VERSION_11.toString()
  }

  // issue merging due to conflict with httpclient and something else
  packagingOptions.resources.excludes += setOf(
    "META-INF/DEPENDENCIES"
  )
}


dependencies {
  val okhttpLegacyVersion = "3.12.12"

      </activation>
      <!-- profile dependencies last, in the order given -->
      <dependencies>
        <dependency>
          <!-- deliberately respecifying this dep to check merging behavior -->
          <groupId>org.apache.maven.its.mng1412</groupId>
          <artifactId>a</artifactId>
          <version>0.1</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>