About:
Ant is a Java based build tool, similar to make, but with better support for the cross platform issues involved with developing Java applications. Ant is the build tool of choice for all Java projects at Apache and many other Open Source Java projects.

Author:
Ant development team <user (at) ant (dot) apache (dot) org> [contact developer]

Rating:	reset 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8.53/10.00 (29 votes)

Homepage:
http://ant.apache.org/
Tar/GZ:
http://ant.apache.org/bindownload.cgi
Tar/BZ2:
http://ant.apache.org/bindownload.cgi
Zip:
http://ant.apache.org/bindownload.cgi
Changelog:
http://www.apache.org/dist/ant/
Debian package:
http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/ant
CVS tree (cvsweb):
http://svn.apache.org/viewvc/ant/core/
Bug tracker:
http://issues.apache.org/bugzilla/
Mailing list archive:
http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=ant-user&r=1&w=2

Trove categories: [change]

[Development Status]		5 - Production/Stable
[Intended Audience]		Developers
[License]		The Apache License, The Apache License 2.0
[Operating System]		OS Independent
[Programming Language]		Java
[Topic]		Software Development :: Build Tools

Dependencies: [change]
No dependencies filed

 Branches

Branch	Version	Last release	License	URLs
Stable	1.7.0	20-Dec-2006	The Apache License 2.0
Development	1.7.0RC1	12-Nov-2006	The Apache License 2.0

 Articles referencing this project

• Die Hard Make Habits
  by Adrian Neagu , in Editorials
  Sat, Sep 1st 2007 00:00
  
• Make alternatives
  by Adrian Neagu , in Category Reviews
  Sat, Jul 9th 2005 00:00
  
• Open Source Java and Web Testing Tools
  by Vinodh Velusamy , in Category Reviews
  Sat, Nov 6th 2004 00:00
  
• Agile Practices
  by Dean Margerison , in Editorials
  Sat, Aug 28th 2004 00:00
  

 Comments

[»] Arguably the Best Build Tool Ever
by Matt Rosenberger - Jul 11th 2004 21:11:34

I never liked the syntax of GNU makefiles. I used a shell script to build C++ projects from scratch instead of `make`. When I was hired as a Java developer, one of my tasks was to get familiar with the build process since I would be responsible for making any changes to it. So I had to learn about some tool called Ant, which was described to me as `make` for Java. Well I wasn't too thrilled with this idea since I hated `make`. However, within 5 minutes of sitting down with an Ant book and reading sample Ant scripts, I was hooked.

Ant is the killer Java utility. A must-have for any Java project. It takes a few minutes to create a basic build process using simple XML scripting. Ant shines with it's file set support so you can use wildcards to include or exclude certain files during a process. There are an abundant amount of tasks that can be used in Ant, ranging from FTP, Telnet, E-mail, CVS to JSP, EJB, RMI, and J2EE. Many Java utilities suitable for a build process such as JUnit and JProbe can be used within Ant.

Ant has really made my job enjoyable!

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