Everyone uses build tools. We have Make, GNU Make, Nmake, Jam, and many others. But Apache's Ant is different from typical build tools. Instead of using inherently evil shell-based commands, it's based on Java classes. Its use of XML for configuration files and architecture enables Ant's big advantages: simplicity, portability, and power. In this paper we have summarized Ant's most important features and a wealth of recommended practices.
Published in:
Software, IEEE
(Volume:21
,
Issue:
6
)
Date of Publication: Nov.-Dec. 2004