I’m currently researching build tools. I need a build and configure tool for a iOS/Android/BlackBerry mobile app with a single set of core components but many configurations for different app deployments. I could hack something together with Python or Bash shell scripts, but there’s a reason why build tools exist. Options:
- Ant/Ivy - doable, but loads of XML to write
- Maven - my project structure does not lend itself to Maven’s rigid conventions
- Gradle - I’ve never used it before, so let’s take a look
Building and Testing with Gradle by Tim Berglund and Matthew McCullough is an O'Reilly book was the logical pick. I saw Matt speak on Hadoop & Git at No Fluff Just Stuff last year and really enjoyed his clear, concise explanations. This book is also clear, concise, and only took a few hours to read and work through the examples.
My notes for the book are on my programming notes Github repository. The notes won’t make as much sense without reading the book, so I suggest picking up the eBook copy over at O'Reilly.
Over the next couple of days I’ll be working through producing a Gradle build for the mobile app I’m working on for Excella. I’ll post my full impressions of Gradle after I’ve had more time with the tool.