What is Ant variables?

Ant build files are written in XML, which does not allow declaring variables as you do in your favorite programming language. Ant uses the property element which allows you to specify the properties. This allows the properties to be changed from one build to another or from one environment to another.

What is Ant project?

Ant is a Java-based build tool created as part of the Apache open-source project. You can think of it as a Java version of make. Ant scripts have a structure and are written in XML. Similar to make, Ant targets can depend on other targets. For example, Ant is used in the context of plug-in development in the build.

How does Apache Ant work?

Ant builds are based on three blocks: tasks, targets and extension points. A task is a unit of work which should be performed and constitutes of small atomic steps, for example compile source code or create Javadoc. Tasks can be grouped into targets. A target can be directly invoked via Ant.

How do I override property value in Ant?

Ant Properties are set once and then can never be overridden. That’s why setting any property on the command line via a -Dproperty=value will always override anything you’ve set in the file; the property is set and then nothing can override it. This way: Anything set at the command line takes precedence over build.

What is a Basedir?

basedir : The directory that the current project resides in. This means this points to where your Maven projects resides on your system. It corresponds to the location of the pom. xml file. If your POM is located inside /path/to/project/pom.

What is property in Ant?

Ant properties are key, value pairs you can configure inside your Ant build script. Typically you use properties for values that you need to refer to multiple times in your Ant build script. For instance, the source directory of your Java code, or the build output directory.

Which is better ant or Maven?

Maven is better for managing dependencies (but Ant is ok with them too, if you use Ant+Ivy) and build artefacts. The main benefit from maven – its lifecycle. Maven archetype is powerful feature, which allows you to quickly create project. Ant is better for controlling of build process.

Which is better Ant or Maven?

How do I start Apache Ant?

Installing Apache Ant

1. Ensure that the JAVA_HOME environment variable is set to the folder, where your JDK is installed.
2. Unzip the zip file to a convenient location c:\folder by using Winzip, winRAR, 7-zip or similar tools.
3. Create a new environment variable called ANT_HOME that points to the Ant installation folder.

Where is build XML in Ant?

Typically, Ant’s build file, called build. xml should reside in the base directory of the project.

What are the attributes of an ANT project?

A project has three attributes: Attribute Description Required name the name of the project. No default the default target to use when no target No; however, since Ant 1.6.0, every proj basedir the base directory from which all path . No; defaults to the parent directory of

How does ant provide access to system properties?

Ant provides access to all system properties as if they had been defined using a task. For example, $ {os.name} expands to the name of the operating system. For a list of system properties, see the javadoc of System.getProperties .

When to use path attribute in Apache Ant?

The path attribute is intended to be used with predefined paths—in any other case, multiple elements with location attributes should be preferred. Since Ant 1.8.2 the location attribute can also contain a wildcard in its last path component (i.e. it can end in a *) in order to support wildcard CLASSPATH s introduced with Java 6.

What are the sub-interfaces of Apache Ant?

There are three sub-interfaces of Delegate that may be useful to implement: org.apache.tools.ant.property.PropertyExpander is responsible for finding the property name inside a string in the first place (the default extracts foo from $ {foo} ).