Groovy for Build Automation

20. Groovy for Build Automation (Gradle)

Gradle is a powerful build automation tool that leverages Groovy as its primary scripting language. With Gradle, you can define, configure, and automate various tasks in your software development process. In this tutorial, we'll explore how to use Groovy with Gradle to build and manage projects efficiently.

Getting Started with Gradle and Groovy:

Before we dive into Gradle, make sure you have Gradle installed on your system. You can download and install Gradle from the official website.

1. Create a New Gradle Project:

mkdir my-gradle-project
cd my-gradle-project
gradle init --type java-library

2. Create a 'build.gradle'File:

plugins {
    id 'java'
}

repositories {
    jcenter()
}

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.slf4j:slf4j-api:1.7.32'
    testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.13.2'
}

version = '1.0'
sourceCompatibility = 1.8

jar {
    manifest {
        attributes 'Main-Class': 'com.example.Main'
    }
}

In this 'build.gradle' file:

• We apply the Java plugin.
• We specify repositories to resolve dependencies (in this case, JCenter).
• We define dependencies for the project (SLF4J and JUnit).
• We set the project's version, source compatibility, and specify the main class for the JAR.

3. Define Custom Tasks:

task greet {
    doLast {
        println 'Hello, Gradle!'
    }
}

gradle greet

4. Running the Build:

gradle build

This command will compile your code, run tests, and create a JAR file in the 'build/libs' directory.

5. Running Custom Tasks:

gradle greet