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diff --git a/build/tools/jakarta-ant-1.5.1/welcome.html b/build/tools/jakarta-ant-1.5.1/welcome.html new file mode 100644 index 000000000..33f6a2a05 --- /dev/null +++ b/build/tools/jakarta-ant-1.5.1/welcome.html @@ -0,0 +1,124 @@ +<html> +<head> +<title>Welcome to Ant1.5</title> +</head> +<body bgcolor="#ffffff"> +<h1>Welcome to Ant1.5</h1> +Hello, and welcome to Ant1.5 +<p> +For new users to Ant, welcome to a new way to build your software. +<p> +For veteran Ant users, its been, what nine months since Ant 1.4.1 +shipped, and we've been as busy enhancing it as you've been using it. +<p> + +We know you've been using Ant, not just from the all the bug reports we +see, but from the awards we've been getting from JavaWorld and SD Magazine +and from the fact that it is now clearly a mainstream product. Every quality IDE, +from the Open Source projects: Emacs, NetBeans, Eclipse, JEdit, to the +commercial offerings such as IntelliJ IDEA and JBuilder now have high +quality Ant integration either built in or available as a +download. And they do that not just because it improves their products, +giving users the best of both worlds -great editors and a great build +process, but because Java developers are starting to expect Ant (and +JUnit) everywhere. +<p> +Even in mid-2001, if you said you were using Ant in your project, people +would stare at you. Now, as long as you are talking with Java developers +and not management or your family and friends, people will nod, shrug +and maybe ask you questions about build file and Ant configurations. The good +news: Ant 1.5 includes more helpful error messages and a new +<tt>-diagnostics</tt> command to look at your Ant installation and help work out why +things arent working. +<p> +Now, when you tell people you work on Ant in your spare time, +people used to give you very funny stares; now they ask you about how to +set up automated build processes, or deploy to some random app server. +The good news: Ant 1.5 makes it easier to answer those questions. + +The other sign of mainstream is that there are also books on the +subject, first Java Tools for Extreme Programming, then Ant: The +Definitive Guide, and the first Ant1.5 book, Java Development with Ant, +due to ship at the end of the month. (Steve says: I prefer the one with +my name on the cover as co-author, but I'm biased). +As usual, the manual has improved too: +regardless of whether you need a book to work with Ant or not, you need +that on-line documentation. And as usual, any extra contributions to the +docs are welcome indeed. +<p> +Ant has also influenced how projects are built. Now when you download +any open source project, or work with a closed source team, you expect +to see a file called build.xml there. Equally important, you expect that +build file to compile and run a set of tests using JUnit or a derivative +thereof; if they are missing, you worry. +<p> +Together, Ant and JUnit have transformed the mainstream process for +building and deploying Java projects. And that's pretty profound, when +you think about it. What is equally impressive is that this was all done +as a co-operative effort. Nobody works on Ant full-time; everybody uses +it to solve their problems, to address their build crises and generally +get something done in a hurry. It just so happens that the architectural +model of Java classes bound via introspection to the XML build file +makes it easy for people to add new tasks, extend existing ones and +generally ease their way into developing and extending Ant. It is the +users that have helped Ant become the success it is today, and will keep +it that way tomorrow. +<p> +<h2>What has changed</h2> +<p> +So, what is new in Ant1.5? Lots of stuff. You will have to look at the +<a href="WHATSNEW">whatsnew</a> file to see, but basically the changes +fall into a number of categories +<ol> +<li>Bug fixes. We know, some things were broken in 1.4. In ant1.5 we +have moved the bugs, fixing the ones we could, and no doubt adding +different ones. Hopefully the total bug count has decreased. +<li>Scalability. Changes in <ant> and a few other tasks should +make it easier to write large, scalable build files. +<li>Deployment. Take a look at the new <serverdeploy> task, add support +for your server if it isnt there. Tomcat 4.1 has its own deployment +tasks incidentally -fetch them from the tomcat pages. +<li>Ease of use. We have added new attributes to make the archive tasks +consistent with each other, new error messages for common problems (you +get a screenful of help when a task wont instantiate, for example), and +generally try and be helpful. As usual, we will accept contributions to +the documentation or the code for even more helpfulness. Hey, in ant1.5 +you dont need to double escape the $ sign to preserve it in a string! +<li>Java 1.4 support. We build and test fine on Java 1.4, and have the +extensions to javac needed to build code with assertions in. We should +point out that we have more work to do in this area: if someone wants to +write an <assertionset> datatype to give users control of which assertions +to enable, and patch this in to things like the <junit> and +<java> tasks, things would get very interesting. +<li>Continuous builds. Automated build tools are becoming more widely +used; fork options on <javac> and <javadoc> are there to +stop memory use growth on a continuous process. +<li>New platforms: MacOS X for owners of those cute little laptops, +Novell Netware servers, and even z/OS and OS/390 for mainframe +developers who write their build files on their virtual card punches. +<li>Conditions. Take a look at the <condition> tag to see what you can +look for, then at <waitfor> to use the same tests in deployment. +Finally, notice the <tt>if</tt> and <tt>unless</tt> attributes on +<fail> for easy halting of the build on a condition, without +having to resort to conditional targets. +</ol> + +There are many more enhancements, so we hope you will find your build +projects easier. We have, as usual, jumped through hoops to keep +existing builds working, even those build files that went out their way +to not work on Java 1.4 (hint: dont ask for the classic compiler, it has +gone away). If your build file stops working, and it isnt something listed +on the 'changes that may break your build' part of the WHATSNEW file, or +something we know about on bugzilla, please dont hesitate to file a new +bug report, preferably one with a replicable test and a patch to fix the +problem. +<p> +Thanks, +<p> +The Ant development team. +<p> +PS: many thanks for Magesh to being the build manager for this release! +He has been busy since Feb/March organizing it. Magesh -you are so good +at this you should do it next time too :) +</body></html> + |