Please see below. Chris Erskine EDS Consulting Services F5-EDS-001 2424 Garden of the Gods Rd Colorado Springs, CO 80919 Phone: 719-535-6064 Phone: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> -----Original Message----- > From: Chappell, Simon P [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 9:15 AM > To: Ant Users List > Subject: RE: winning the case for ANT > > I have to correct a few things here. > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: Erskine, Chris [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 7:33 AM > >To: Ant Users List > >Subject: RE: winning the case for ANT > > > > > >XML is just a standard way of formatting data. In this case, > >the lines of data are script commands. > > No! Ant is not a scripting language. Perhaps it should have been, but the > reality is that Ant is a build tool. It uses deterministic logic to build > your application, given descriptions of your project and the dependencies > between parts. This works really well in most instances. The biggest > problem that I have seen with ant, is that people try to use it like a > scripting language and wonder why that causes problems. > [Erskine, Chris] I agree that Ant is a build tool. As a build tool, it requires something to tell it what to do. From http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=script For computer science, it states "A simple program in a utility language or an application's proprietary language". This describes what is contained in the build file. This is a script. A script is just a list of steps to be followed. As such, Ant does use a scripting language which has been formatted using XML. > >You could define this format as a scripting > >language. Each tool has its own formatting syntax. If you > >look at Make, it > >has its own format that has the problem of the first character > >on a line > >having to be a tab character to be a command for a target. > > Make is a fine tool, but it's not the best tool for Java applications. I > like make, wrinkles and all, but I use ant for my Java projects. [Erskine, Chris] I agree fully. > > >XML format is just the format that was chosen for ant to describe the > >scripting. This is not a battle that will be won on merit > >since it sounds > >like it is a religious issue for this developer. > > Sounds like that project needs a good tech. lead to put their foot down > and make a decision. A tech lead needs to be somewhat like Linus Torvalds, > a benevolent dictator. :-) > [Erskine, Chris] You have to play the political game. Not always the best answer but for some projects, this is a fact of life. This developer who does not want to us XML for scripting may be the tech lead. Putting their foot down and making a decision may not be what is wanted here. And, to prevent more ranting, this person may be a 'good' tech lead. Just because a person does not use all of the best practices, does not make them bad. There can be a number of reasons for not using Ant. There are also a number of issues with XML and although it is the current religion, it does not fit in all cases which I think the industry is starting to see and move somewhat away from it. XML is just a tool. Where it makes sense or can be used without big problems, use it. But also, you need to know where it does not fit. > >ANT is not an industry standard. I do not even know if I > > It most certainly is a de-facto standard on the Java side of the fence, > especially on the open source projects. To say otherwise is to display a > certain amount of ignorance of the state of the Java world. > [Erskine, Chris] I agree that it is a de-facto standard. It is not an industry standard. There is not a standards body that has blessed ant as a standard. > >could define it as > >a best practice although I think it might be close. It is a > >tool that used > >by many people to automate their build and deployment of code. > > It is very > >good at what it does which is why it is a popular as it is. > > It's popular, it's used by many people ... sounds like a de-facto standard > to me. > > <snip> > > >Chris Erskine > > Simon > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Simon P. Chappell [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Java Programming Specialist www.landsend.com > Lands' End, Inc. (608) 935-4526 > > "Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and > well-informed just to be undecided about them." - Laurence J. Peter > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
