Free software build automation tool
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(
June 2020
)
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Gradle
is a
build automation
tool for multi-language software development. It controls the development process in the tasks of compilation and packaging to testing, deployment, and publishing. Supported languages include Java (as well as
Kotlin
,
Groovy
,
Scala
),
C
/
C++
, and
JavaScript
.
[2]
Gradle builds on the concepts of
Apache Ant
and
Apache Maven
, and introduces a
Groovy
- and
Kotlin
-based
domain-specific language
contrasted with the
XML
-based project configuration used by Maven.
[3]
Gradle uses a
directed acyclic graph
to determine the order in which tasks can be run, through providing dependency management. It runs on the
Java Virtual Machine
.
[4]
Gradle was designed for multi-project builds, which can grow to be large. It operates based on a series of build tasks that can run serially or in parallel. Incremental builds are supported by determining the parts of the build tree that are already up to date; any task dependent only on those parts does not need to be re-executed. It also supports caching of build components, potentially across a shared network using the Gradle Build Cache. Combined with the proprietary hosted service of Develocity, it produces web-based build visualizations called Gradle Build Scans. The software is extensible for new features and programming languages with a plugin subsystem.
Gradle is distributed as
Free Software
under the
Apache License 2.0
, and was first released in 2008.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
Origin of the name
[
edit
]
Founder and CEO Hans Dockter has said that he originally wanted to name the project "Cradle". However, to make the name unique and less "diminutive" he instead chose "Gradle", taking the "G" from the use of Groovy.
[6]
Major versions
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]
Version
|
Date
|
0.1
|
21 April 2008
[7]
|
1.0
|
12 June 2012
[8]
|
2.0
|
1 July 2014
|
3.0
|
15 August 2016
|
4.0
|
14 June 2017
|
5.0
|
26 November 2018
|
6.0
|
8 November 2019
|
7.0
|
9 April 2021
|
8.0
|
13 February 2023
|
Features
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Gradle offers support for all phases of a build process including compilation, verification, dependency resolving, test execution, source code generation, packaging and publishing.
Because Gradle follows a
convention over configuration
approach, it is possible to describe all of these build phases in short configuration files.
Conventions include the folder structure of the project, standard tasks and their order as well as dependency repositories. However, all conventions can be overridden by the project configuration if necessary.
[9]
Plugins are a central component of Gradle. They allow for integration of a set of configurations and tasks into a project and can be included from a central plugin repository or custom-developed for a single project.
Distribution
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]
Gradle is available as a separate download, but can also be found bundled in products such as
Android Studio
. Gradle Wrapper is the recommended way to invoke Gradle. It can download the declared version of Gradle beforehand if necessary.
[10]
See also
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]
References
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]
Further reading
[
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]
External links
[
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]