A development-oriented split-source directory structure, that can be used with an application server and which solves a number of the problems associated with traditional Enterprise Archive (EAR) files. In particular, the split-source directory structure presents a clean separation between human-readable source files stored in a source control system and generated java class files. The two directories (source and output) appear like a single application. In addition, the split-source directory structure supports an abstraction layer and mappings that allow a physical file location to be mapped to a virtual location. In this manner, the system provides flexibility in how the build structure can be laid out for a particular application development.