Gradle

Language: Java

Build/Dependency Management

Gradle was created to improve upon traditional build tools like Apache Ant and Maven by offering a declarative DSL, performance optimizations, and extensive plugin support. It has become widely adopted in the Java ecosystem, Android development, and large-scale projects due to its flexibility, speed, and compatibility with existing build conventions.

Gradle is a modern build automation tool for Java, Kotlin, and other JVM-based languages. It provides a flexible, high-performance build system with support for dependency management, multi-project builds, and incremental compilation, making it ideal for complex enterprise projects.

Installation

website: https://gradle.org/install/

gradle_setup:

Download Gradle, extract it, and set the environment variable PATH to include the bin directory. Verify with 'gradle -v'.

Usage

Gradle uses a Groovy or Kotlin-based DSL (build.gradle or build.gradle.kts) to define tasks, dependencies, and project configurations. It supports standard lifecycles such as clean, build, test, and deploy, with incremental builds for speed.

Creating a Gradle project

gradle init --type java-application

Generates a basic Java project structure with Gradle build scripts and source directories.

Compiling a project

gradle build

Compiles the source code, runs tests, and produces a JAR file in the build/libs directory.

Adding dependencies

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.apache.commons:commons-lang3:3.13.0'
    testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.13.2'
}

Declares project dependencies that Gradle automatically downloads and manages.

Custom tasks

task hello {
    doLast {
        println 'Hello Gradle!'
    }
}

Defines a custom task named 'hello' that prints a message when executed.

Multi-project build

// settings.gradle
include 'core', 'app'

// app/build.gradle
dependencies {
    implementation project(':core')
}

Demonstrates a multi-module Gradle project where the app module depends on the core module.

Using plugins

plugins {
    id 'java'
    id 'application'
}

application {
    mainClass = 'com.example.Main'
}

Applies plugins to add functionality like Java compilation and application packaging.

Running tests

gradle test

Executes unit tests defined in src/test/java and generates test reports.

Error Handling

DependencyResolutionException: Occurs when Gradle cannot resolve a dependency. Check repository configuration, dependency coordinates, and network access.

TaskExecutionException: Occurs when a task fails during execution. Review task logs, fix build script issues or compilation errors.

BuildFailedException: Occurs if compilation, testing, or packaging fails. Examine logs to identify and fix underlying problems.

Best Practices

Use Gradle wrapper (gradlew) to ensure consistent builds across machines.

Organize multi-module projects to isolate concerns and manage dependencies effectively.

Leverage incremental builds and caching to speed up build times.

Use plugins for standard tasks like Java compilation, testing, and packaging.

Maintain a clear separation between implementation and test dependencies.

Official Docs Github