Need of Build Tools in Java

Need of Build Tools in Java | What is the meaning of building the Application/Project? Keeping the application or project ready for execution is called building the application/project. It involves the following operations:-

Developing source files
Compilations
Adding dependencies/libraries (jars) to the classpath
Creating project standard directories
Packaging the app (creating jars or war files)
Unit testing
Generating API documentation (javadoc tool)
Deployments
Sending emails/notifications (optional).

Performing all the above operations called as build process. We may have to repeat it multiple times until satisfactory results come. Instead of doing these build process activities manually, it is better to automate the complicated, repetitive operations of the build process by using build automation tools.

We can automate it through batch files (build.bat) but it has many limitations. Sample build.bat:-

cd E:\proj1
javac *.java
cd E:\proj1\Dao
javac *.java
mkdir WEB-INF
cd WEB-INF
mkdir classes
cd classes
set classpath=E:\Tomcat9.0\lib\servlet-api.jar;<other jars>;
...
...

Limitations with Batch (.bat) file

It is procedural, we need to tell everything.
It is not self-intelligent.
We can’t create dependencies among the tasks.
We can’t place conditional tasks.
It can’t download jars dynamically from the internet, and e.t.c.

To overcome the problems of manual processes and .bat file-based automation we need to use advanced build automation tools like Ant, Maven, Gradle, etc.

Advantages and Limitations of Ant

Ant (Another Neat Tool) is procedural.
It can have dependencies among tasks.
It can create tasks as conditional tasks.
Ant is not self-intelligent.
It can’t download jars dynamically from the internet.

Ant is better than batch file (.bat) but overall it is not a great build tool. To overcome these problems we need to work with either Maven or Gradle. Gradle is a bit ahead compared to Maven and Gradle is faster compared to Maven. We can’t work with Maven without installing them in our system, but we can work with Gradle without installing Gradle in our computer through gradlew. Gradle uses an incremental build process which means in our project if we modify only 2 Java files, and build it then Gradle will compile only those modified Java files but not the whole project.

Gradle vs Maven

Gradle	Maven
It avoids the work by tracking input and output tasks and only runs the tasks that have been changed. Therefore it gives a faster performance.	It is a software project management system that is primarily used for Java projects.
It does not use an XML file for declaring the project configuration.	It uses an XML file for declaring the project, its dependencies, the build order, and its required plugin.
It is based on a graph of task dependencies that do the work.	It is based on the phases of the fixed and linear model.
In Gradle, the main goal is to add functionality to the project.	In Maven, the main goal is related to the project phase.
It avoids the work by tracking input and output tasks and only runs the tasks that have been changed (incremental build process). Therefore it gives a faster performance.	It does not use the build cache; thus, its build time is slower than Gradle.
Gradle is highly customizable; it provides a wide range of IDE support custom builds.	Maven has a limited number of parameters and requirements, so customization is a bit complicated.
Gradle avoids the compilation of Java.	The compilation is mandatory in Maven.

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Gradle vs Maven

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