diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/AbstractXmlWriter.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/AbstractXmlWriter.java
index fe3603b7..c22bc692 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/AbstractXmlWriter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/AbstractXmlWriter.java
@@ -37,16 +37,12 @@ abstract class AbstractXmlWriter
 
     private final String encoding;
 
-    protected static final String MODULE_ELEMENT = "module";
-
-    protected static final String SERVICE_ELEMENT = "service";
-
     AbstractXmlWriter( String encoding )
     {
         this.encoding = encoding;
     }
 
-    protected Writer initializeWriter( final File destinationFile )
+    Writer initializeWriter( final File destinationFile )
         throws EarPluginException
     {
         try
@@ -55,36 +51,13 @@ protected Writer initializeWriter( final File destinationFile )
         }
         catch ( IOException ex )
         {
-            // CHECKSTYLE_OFF: LineLength
-            throw new EarPluginException( "Exception while opening file[" + destinationFile.getAbsolutePath() + "]", ex );
-            // CHECKSTYLE_ON: LineLength
+            throw new EarPluginException( 
+                    "Exception while opening file[" + destinationFile.getAbsolutePath() + "]", ex );
         }
     }
 
-    protected XMLWriter initializeXmlWriter( final Writer writer, final String docType )
+    XMLWriter initializeXmlWriter( final Writer writer, final String docType )
     {
         return new PrettyPrintXMLWriter( writer, encoding, docType );
     }
-
-    protected void close( Writer closeable )
-    {
-        if ( closeable == null )
-        {
-            return;
-        }
-
-        try
-        {
-            closeable.close();
-        }
-        catch ( Exception e )
-        {
-            // TODO: warn
-        }
-    }
-
-    public String getEncoding()
-    {
-        return encoding;
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/ApplicationXmlWriter.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/ApplicationXmlWriter.java
index c8058af3..7b2a8b4f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/ApplicationXmlWriter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/ApplicationXmlWriter.java
@@ -19,13 +19,14 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
+import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.Writer;
 
 import org.apache.maven.plugins.ear.util.JavaEEVersion;
 import org.codehaus.plexus.util.xml.XMLWriter;
 
 /**
- * An <tt>XmlWriter</tt> based implementation used to generate an <tt>application.xml</tt> file
+ * An <code>XmlWriter</code> based implementation used to generate an <tt>application.xml</tt> file.
  * 
  * @author <a href="snicoll@apache.org">Stephane Nicoll</a>
  */
@@ -51,103 +52,106 @@ final class ApplicationXmlWriter
         this.generateModuleId = generateModuleId;
     }
 
-    public void write( ApplicationXmlWriterContext context )
+    void write( ApplicationXmlWriterContext context )
         throws EarPluginException
     {
-        Writer w = initializeWriter( context.getDestinationFile() );
-
-        XMLWriter writer = null;
-        if ( JavaEEVersion.ONE_DOT_THREE.eq( version ) )
-        {
-            writer = initializeRootElementOneDotThree( w );
-        }
-        else if ( JavaEEVersion.ONE_DOT_FOUR.eq( version ) )
-        {
-            writer = initializeRootElementOneDotFour( w );
-        }
-        else if ( JavaEEVersion.FIVE.eq( version ) )
-        {
-            writer = initializeRootElementFive( w );
-        }
-        else if ( JavaEEVersion.SIX.eq( version ) )
-        {
-            writer = initializeRootElementSix( w );
-        }
-        else if ( JavaEEVersion.SEVEN.eq( version ) )
-        {
-            writer = initializeRootElementSeven( w );
-        }
-        else if ( JavaEEVersion.EIGHT.eq( version ) )
-        {
-            writer = initializeRootElementEight( w );
-        }
-
-        // writer is still on root element, so we can still add this attribute
-        if ( context.getApplicationId() != null )
-        {
-            writer.addAttribute( "id", context.getApplicationId() );
-        }
-
-        // As from JavaEE6
-        if ( version.ge( JavaEEVersion.SIX ) )
-        {
-            writeApplicationName( context.getApplicationName(), writer );
-        }
-
-        // IMPORTANT: the order of the description and display-name elements was
-        // reversed between J2EE 1.3 and J2EE 1.4.
-        if ( version.eq( JavaEEVersion.ONE_DOT_THREE ) )
-        {
-            writeDisplayName( context.getDisplayName(), writer );
-            writeDescription( context.getDescription(), writer );
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            writeDescription( context.getDescription(), writer );
-            writeDisplayName( context.getDisplayName(), writer );
-        }
-
-        // As from JavaEE6
-        if ( version.ge( JavaEEVersion.SIX ) )
-        {
-            writeInitializeInOrder( context.getInitializeInOrder(), writer );
-        }
-
-        // Do not change this unless you really know what you're doing :)
-        for ( EarModule module : context.getEarModules() )
-        {
-            module.appendModule( writer, version.getVersion(), generateModuleId );
-        }
-
-        for ( SecurityRole securityRole : context.getSecurityRoles() )
-        {
-            securityRole.appendSecurityRole( writer );
-        }
-
-        if ( version.ge( JavaEEVersion.FIVE ) )
+        try ( Writer w = initializeWriter( context.getDestinationFile() ) )
         {
-            writeLibraryDirectory( context.getLibraryDirectory(), writer );
-        }
-
-        if ( version.ge( JavaEEVersion.SIX ) )
-        {
-            for ( EnvEntry envEntry : context.getEnvEntries() )
+            XMLWriter writer = null;
+            if ( JavaEEVersion.ONE_DOT_THREE.eq( version ) )
             {
-                envEntry.appendEnvEntry( writer );
+                writer = initializeRootElementOneDotThree( w );
             }
-            for ( EjbRef ejbEntry : context.getEjbEntries() )
+            else if ( JavaEEVersion.ONE_DOT_FOUR.eq( version ) )
             {
-                ejbEntry.appendEjbRefEntry( writer );
+                writer = initializeRootElementOneDotFour( w );
             }
-            for ( ResourceRef resourceEntry : context.getResourceRefs() )
+            else if ( JavaEEVersion.FIVE.eq( version ) )
             {
-                resourceEntry.appendResourceRefEntry( writer );
+                writer = initializeRootElementFive( w );
             }
+            else if ( JavaEEVersion.SIX.eq( version ) )
+            {
+                writer = initializeRootElementSix( w );
+            }
+            else if ( JavaEEVersion.SEVEN.eq( version ) )
+            {
+                writer = initializeRootElementSeven( w );
+            }
+            else if ( JavaEEVersion.EIGHT.eq( version ) )
+            {
+                writer = initializeRootElementEight( w );
+            }
+    
+            // writer is still on root element, so we can still add this attribute
+            if ( context.getApplicationId() != null )
+            {
+                writer.addAttribute( "id", context.getApplicationId() );
+            }
+    
+            // As from JavaEE6
+            if ( version.ge( JavaEEVersion.SIX ) )
+            {
+                writeApplicationName( context.getApplicationName(), writer );
+            }
+    
+            // IMPORTANT: the order of the description and display-name elements was
+            // reversed between J2EE 1.3 and J2EE 1.4.
+            if ( version.eq( JavaEEVersion.ONE_DOT_THREE ) )
+            {
+                writeDisplayName( context.getDisplayName(), writer );
+                writeDescription( context.getDescription(), writer );
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                writeDescription( context.getDescription(), writer );
+                writeDisplayName( context.getDisplayName(), writer );
+            }
+    
+            // As from JavaEE6
+            if ( version.ge( JavaEEVersion.SIX ) )
+            {
+                writeInitializeInOrder( context.getInitializeInOrder(), writer );
+            }
+    
+            // Do not change this unless you really know what you're doing :)
+            for ( EarModule module : context.getEarModules() )
+            {
+                module.appendModule( writer, version.getVersion(), generateModuleId );
+            }
+    
+            for ( SecurityRole securityRole : context.getSecurityRoles() )
+            {
+                securityRole.appendSecurityRole( writer );
+            }
+    
+            if ( version.ge( JavaEEVersion.FIVE ) )
+            {
+                writeLibraryDirectory( context.getLibraryDirectory(), writer );
+            }
+    
+            if ( version.ge( JavaEEVersion.SIX ) )
+            {
+                for ( EnvEntry envEntry : context.getEnvEntries() )
+                {
+                    envEntry.appendEnvEntry( writer );
+                }
+                for ( EjbRef ejbEntry : context.getEjbEntries() )
+                {
+                    ejbEntry.appendEjbRefEntry( writer );
+                }
+                for ( ResourceRef resourceEntry : context.getResourceRefs() )
+                {
+                    resourceEntry.appendResourceRefEntry( writer );
+                }
+            }
+    
+            writer.endElement();
+        }
+        catch ( IOException ex )
+        {
+            // ignore
         }
-
-        writer.endElement();
-
-        close( w );
     }
 
     private void writeApplicationName( String applicationName, XMLWriter writer )
@@ -249,10 +253,8 @@ private XMLWriter initializeRootElementSeven( Writer w )
         writer.startElement( APPLICATION_ELEMENT );
         writer.addAttribute( "xmlns", "http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee" );
         writer.addAttribute( "xmlns:xsi", "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" );
-        // CHECKSTYLE_OFF: LineLength
         writer.addAttribute( "xsi:schemaLocation",
-                             "http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/application_7.xsd" );
-        // CHECKSTYLE_ON: LineLength
+            "http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/application_7.xsd" );
         writer.addAttribute( "version", "7" );
         return writer;
     }
@@ -263,10 +265,8 @@ private XMLWriter initializeRootElementEight( Writer w )
         writer.startElement( APPLICATION_ELEMENT );
         writer.addAttribute( "xmlns", "http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee" );
         writer.addAttribute( "xmlns:xsi", "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" );
-        // CHECKSTYLE_OFF: LineLength
         writer.addAttribute( "xsi:schemaLocation",
-                             "http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/application_8.xsd" );
-        // CHECKSTYLE_ON: LineLength
+            "http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/application_8.xsd" );
         writer.addAttribute( "version", "8" );
         return writer;
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/EarMojo.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/EarMojo.java
index e7476384..cd0007e0 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/EarMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/EarMojo.java
@@ -754,13 +754,19 @@ private void changeManifestClasspath( EarModule module, File original, JavaEEVer
                 // Create a temporary work directory
                 // MEAR-167 use uri as directory to prevent merging of artifacts with the same artifactId
                 workDirectory = new File( new File( getTempFolder(), "temp" ), module.getUri() );
-                workDirectory.mkdirs();
-                getLog().debug( "Created a temporary work directory: " + workDirectory.getAbsolutePath() );
-
-                // Unpack the archive to a temporary work directory
-                zipUnArchiver.setSourceFile( original );
-                zipUnArchiver.setDestDirectory( workDirectory );
-                zipUnArchiver.extract();
+                if ( workDirectory.mkdirs() )
+                {
+                    getLog().debug( "Created a temporary work directory: " + workDirectory.getAbsolutePath() );
+    
+                    // Unpack the archive to a temporary work directory
+                    zipUnArchiver.setSourceFile( original );
+                    zipUnArchiver.setDestDirectory( workDirectory );
+                    zipUnArchiver.extract();
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    throw new MojoFailureException( "Failed to create directory " + workDirectory );
+                }
             }
             else
             {
@@ -772,21 +778,18 @@ private void changeManifestClasspath( EarModule module, File original, JavaEEVer
             boolean newMetaInfCreated = metaInfDirectory.mkdirs();
             if ( newMetaInfCreated )
             {
-                // CHECKSTYLE_OFF: LineLength
-                getLog().debug( "This project did not have a META-INF directory before, so a new directory was created." );
-                // CHECKSTYLE_ON: LineLength
+                getLog().debug(
+                    "This project did not have a META-INF directory before, so a new directory was created." );
             }
-            File newCreatedManifestFile = new File( metaInfDirectory, "MANIFEST.MF" );
-            boolean newManifestCreated = newCreatedManifestFile.createNewFile();
+            File manifestFile = new File( metaInfDirectory, "MANIFEST.MF" );
+            boolean newManifestCreated = manifestFile.createNewFile();
             if ( newManifestCreated )
             {
-                // CHECKSTYLE_OFF: LineLength
-                getLog().debug( "This project did not have a META-INF/MANIFEST.MF file before, so a new file was created." );
-                // CHECKSTYLE_ON: LineLength
+                getLog().debug(
+                    "This project did not have a META-INF/MANIFEST.MF file before, so a new file was created." );
             }
 
-            // Read the manifest from disk
-            Manifest mf = new Manifest( new FileInputStream( newCreatedManifestFile ) );
+            Manifest mf = readManifest( manifestFile );
             Attribute classPath = mf.getMainSection().getAttribute( "Class-Path" );
             List<String> classPathElements = new ArrayList<String>();
 
@@ -808,10 +811,8 @@ private void changeManifestClasspath( EarModule module, File original, JavaEEVer
                     // We use the original name, cause in case of outputFileNameMapping
                     // we could not not delete it and it will end up in the resulting EAR and the WAR
                     // will not be cleaned up.
-                    // CHECKSTYLE_OFF: LineLength
                     File artifact = new File( new File( workDirectory, module.getLibDir() ),
                                               module.getArtifact().getFile().getName() );
-                    // CHECKSTYLE_ON: LineLength
 
                     // MEAR-217
                     // If WAR contains files with timestamps, but EAR strips them away (useBaseVersion=true)
@@ -873,7 +874,7 @@ private void changeManifestClasspath( EarModule module, File original, JavaEEVer
             mf.getMainSection().addConfiguredAttribute( classPath );
 
             // Write the manifest to disk
-            try ( FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream( newCreatedManifestFile );
+            try ( FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream( manifestFile );
                   OutputStreamWriter writer = new OutputStreamWriter( out, StandardCharsets.UTF_8 ) )
             {
                 mf.write( writer );
@@ -898,4 +899,15 @@ private void changeManifestClasspath( EarModule module, File original, JavaEEVer
             throw new MojoFailureException( e.getMessage(), e );
         }
     }
+
+    private static Manifest readManifest( File manifestFile )
+        throws IOException
+    {
+        // Read the manifest from disk
+        try ( FileInputStream in = new FileInputStream( manifestFile ) )
+        {
+            Manifest manifest = new Manifest( in );
+            return manifest;
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/JbossAppXmlWriter.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/JbossAppXmlWriter.java
index 9825cf9d..e3dd73ff 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/JbossAppXmlWriter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/JbossAppXmlWriter.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
  */
 
 import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.Writer;
 import java.util.List;
 
@@ -47,6 +48,10 @@ final class JbossAppXmlWriter
         + "\t\"http://www.jboss.org/j2ee/dtd/jboss-app_5_0.dtd\"";
 
     private static final String JBOSS_APP_ELEMENT = "jboss-app";
+    
+    private static final String MODULE_ELEMENT = "module";
+
+    private static final String SERVICE_ELEMENT = "service";
 
     JbossAppXmlWriter( String encoding )
     {
@@ -56,135 +61,138 @@ final class JbossAppXmlWriter
     public void write( File destinationFile, JbossConfiguration jbossConfiguration, List<EarModule> earModules )
         throws EarPluginException
     {
-        final Writer w = initializeWriter( destinationFile );
-
-        XMLWriter writer;
-        if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossThreeDotTwo() )
+        try ( Writer w = initializeWriter( destinationFile ) )
         {
-            writer = initializeXmlWriter( w, DOCTYPE_3_2 );
-        }
-        else if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFour() )
-        {
-            writer = initializeXmlWriter( w, DOCTYPE_4 );
-        }
-        else if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFourDotTwo() )
-        {
-            writer = initializeXmlWriter( w, DOCTYPE_4_2 );
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            writer = initializeXmlWriter( w, DOCTYPE_5 );
-        }
-        writer.startElement( JBOSS_APP_ELEMENT );
-
-        // Make sure to write the things in the right order so that the DTD validates
-
-        // module-order (only available as from 4.2)
-        if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFourDotTwoOrHigher() && jbossConfiguration.getModuleOrder() != null )
-        {
-            writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.MODULE_ORDER );
-            writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getModuleOrder() );
-            writer.endElement();
-        }
-
-        // If JBoss 4, write the jboss4 specific stuff
-        if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFourOrHigher() )
-        {
-            if ( jbossConfiguration.getSecurityDomain() != null )
+            XMLWriter writer;
+            if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossThreeDotTwo() )
             {
-                writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.SECURITY_DOMAIN );
-                writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getSecurityDomain() );
-                writer.endElement();
+                writer = initializeXmlWriter( w, DOCTYPE_3_2 );
             }
-            if ( jbossConfiguration.getUnauthenticatedPrincipal() != null )
+            else if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFour() )
             {
-                writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.UNAUHTHENTICTED_PRINCIPAL );
-                writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getUnauthenticatedPrincipal() );
-                writer.endElement();
+                writer = initializeXmlWriter( w, DOCTYPE_4 );
             }
-        }
-
-        // classloader repository
-        // CHECKSTYLE_OFF: LineLength
-        if ( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepository() != null || jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryConfig() != null )
-        // CHECKSTYLE_ON: LineLength
-        {
-            writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.LOADER_REPOSITORY );
-
-            // classloader repository class
-            if ( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryClass() != null )
+            else if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFourDotTwo() )
             {
-                writer.addAttribute( JbossConfiguration.LOADER_REPOSITORY_CLASS_ATTRIBUTE,
-                                     jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryClass() );
+                writer = initializeXmlWriter( w, DOCTYPE_4_2 );
             }
-
-            // we don't need to write any text if only the loader repo configuration is changed
-            if ( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepository() != null )
+            else
             {
-                writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepository() );
+                writer = initializeXmlWriter( w, DOCTYPE_5 );
             }
-
-            // classloader configuration
-            if ( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryConfig() != null )
+            writer.startElement( JBOSS_APP_ELEMENT );
+    
+            // Make sure to write the things in the right order so that the DTD validates
+    
+            // module-order (only available as from 4.2)
+            if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFourDotTwoOrHigher() && jbossConfiguration.getModuleOrder() != null )
             {
-                writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.LOADER_REPOSITORY_CONFIG );
-
-                // classloader configuration parser
-                if ( jbossConfiguration.getConfigParserClass() != null )
+                writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.MODULE_ORDER );
+                writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getModuleOrder() );
+                writer.endElement();
+            }
+    
+            // If JBoss 4, write the jboss4 specific stuff
+            if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFourOrHigher() )
+            {
+                if ( jbossConfiguration.getSecurityDomain() != null )
+                {
+                    writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.SECURITY_DOMAIN );
+                    writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getSecurityDomain() );
+                    writer.endElement();
+                }
+                if ( jbossConfiguration.getUnauthenticatedPrincipal() != null )
+                {
+                    writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.UNAUHTHENTICTED_PRINCIPAL );
+                    writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getUnauthenticatedPrincipal() );
+                    writer.endElement();
+                }
+            }
+    
+            // classloader repository
+            if ( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepository() != null
+                || jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryConfig() != null )
+            {
+                writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.LOADER_REPOSITORY );
+    
+                // classloader repository class
+                if ( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryClass() != null )
                 {
-                    writer.addAttribute( JbossConfiguration.CONFIG_PARSER_CLASS_ATTRIBUTE,
-                                         jbossConfiguration.getConfigParserClass() );
+                    writer.addAttribute( JbossConfiguration.LOADER_REPOSITORY_CLASS_ATTRIBUTE,
+                                         jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryClass() );
                 }
-                writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryConfig() );
+    
+                // we don't need to write any text if only the loader repo configuration is changed
+                if ( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepository() != null )
+                {
+                    writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepository() );
+                }
+    
+                // classloader configuration
+                if ( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryConfig() != null )
+                {
+                    writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.LOADER_REPOSITORY_CONFIG );
+    
+                    // classloader configuration parser
+                    if ( jbossConfiguration.getConfigParserClass() != null )
+                    {
+                        writer.addAttribute( JbossConfiguration.CONFIG_PARSER_CLASS_ATTRIBUTE,
+                                             jbossConfiguration.getConfigParserClass() );
+                    }
+                    writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getLoaderRepositoryConfig() );
+                    writer.endElement();
+                }
+    
                 writer.endElement();
             }
-
-            writer.endElement();
-        }
-
-        // jmx name
-        if ( jbossConfiguration.getJmxName() != null )
-        {
-            writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.JMX_NAME );
-            writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getJmxName() );
-            writer.endElement();
-        }
-
-        // library-directory (only available as from 4.2)
-        if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFourDotTwoOrHigher() && jbossConfiguration.getLibraryDirectory() != null )
-        {
-            writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.LIBRARY_DIRECTORY );
-            writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getLibraryDirectory() );
-            writer.endElement();
-        }
-
-        // Modules
-
-        List<String> dataSources = jbossConfiguration.getDataSources();
-        // Write out data source modules first
-        if ( dataSources != null )
-        {
-            for ( String dsPath : dataSources )
+    
+            // jmx name
+            if ( jbossConfiguration.getJmxName() != null )
             {
-                writer.startElement( MODULE_ELEMENT );
-                writer.startElement( SERVICE_ELEMENT );
-                writer.writeText( dsPath );
+                writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.JMX_NAME );
+                writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getJmxName() );
                 writer.endElement();
+            }
+    
+            // library-directory (only available as from 4.2)
+            if ( jbossConfiguration.isJbossFourDotTwoOrHigher() && jbossConfiguration.getLibraryDirectory() != null )
+            {
+                writer.startElement( JbossConfiguration.LIBRARY_DIRECTORY );
+                writer.writeText( jbossConfiguration.getLibraryDirectory() );
                 writer.endElement();
             }
-        }
-
-        // Write the JBoss specific modules
-        for ( EarModule earModule : earModules )
-        {
-            if ( JbossEarModule.class.isInstance( earModule ) )
+    
+            // Modules
+    
+            List<String> dataSources = jbossConfiguration.getDataSources();
+            // Write out data source modules first
+            if ( dataSources != null )
             {
-                JbossEarModule jbossEarModule = (JbossEarModule) earModule;
-                jbossEarModule.appendJbossModule( writer, jbossConfiguration.getVersion() );
+                for ( String dsPath : dataSources )
+                {
+                    writer.startElement( MODULE_ELEMENT );
+                    writer.startElement( SERVICE_ELEMENT );
+                    writer.writeText( dsPath );
+                    writer.endElement();
+                    writer.endElement();
+                }
             }
-        }
-        writer.endElement();
+    
+            // Write the JBoss specific modules
+            for ( EarModule earModule : earModules )
+            {
+                if ( JbossEarModule.class.isInstance( earModule ) )
+                {
+                    JbossEarModule jbossEarModule = (JbossEarModule) earModule;
+                    jbossEarModule.appendJbossModule( writer, jbossConfiguration.getVersion() );
+                }
+            }
+            writer.endElement();
 
-        close( w );
+        }
+        catch ( IOException ex )
+        {
+            throw new EarPluginException( ex );
+        }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/it/EarMojoIT.java b/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/it/EarMojoIT.java
index a9dcb447..61207926 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/it/EarMojoIT.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/ear/it/EarMojoIT.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.FileInputStream;
+import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Properties;
 import java.util.jar.JarFile;
 import java.util.jar.Manifest;
@@ -208,14 +209,14 @@ public void testProject016()
 
         final File sourceManifestFile = new File( baseDir, "src/main/ear/MANIFEST.MF" );
 
-        JarFile jarFile = new JarFile( createdEarFile );
-        Manifest manifestFromCreatedEARFile = jarFile.getManifest();
-        jarFile.close();
-
-        Manifest sourceManifest = new Manifest( new FileInputStream( sourceManifestFile ) );
-
-        assertTrue( "There are differences in the manifest.", sourceManifest.equals( manifestFromCreatedEARFile ) );
-    }
+        try ( JarFile jarFile = new JarFile( createdEarFile );
+              FileInputStream in = new FileInputStream( sourceManifestFile ) )
+        {    
+            Manifest manifestFromCreatedEARFile = jarFile.getManifest();
+            Manifest sourceManifest = new Manifest( in );
+            assertEquals( "There are differences in the manifest.", sourceManifest, manifestFromCreatedEARFile );
+        }
+     }
 
     /**
      * Builds an EAR and make sure that custom application.xml is taken into account.