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Apache Ant VS GNU Make

Compare Apache Ant VS GNU Make and see what are their differences

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Apache Ant logo Apache Ant

Apache Ant is a Java library and command-line tool whose mission is to drive processes described in build files as targets and extension points dependent upon each other.

GNU Make logo GNU Make

GNU Make is a tool which controls the generation of executables and other non-source files of a program from the program's source files.
  • Apache Ant Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-08
  • GNU Make Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-12

Apache Ant features and specs

  • Platform Independence
    Apache Ant is written in Java, making it platform-independent and capable of running on any system with a Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
  • Extensibility
    Ant is highly extensible, allowing developers to create custom tasks and integrate them into the build process, thus providing great flexibility.
  • Integration with IDEs
    Ant can be integrated with various IDEs such as Eclipse and NetBeans, providing developers with a seamless build and deployment experience.
  • XML-Based Configuration
    Using XML for configuration makes Ant scripts easily readable by both humans and machines, which aids in maintainability and collaboration.
  • Wide Adoption and Community Support
    Ant is widely adopted in the industry and enjoys a large and active community, providing ample resources, plugins, and troubleshooting support.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Ant

  • Complexity in Larger Projects
    As projects grow larger, Ant scripts can become complex and difficult to manage, potentially leading to maintenance challenges.
  • Verbose Syntax
    Ant's use of XML can result in verbose and lengthy build files, which might be cumbersome compared to more succinct scripting approaches.
  • Limited Support for Dependency Management
    Ant does not have native support for dependency management, in contrast to tools like Maven or Gradle, requiring additional configurations or plugins.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    For developers new to build automation, Ant's framework can present a steeper learning curve compared to some alternative tools.
  • Older Technology
    Ant is considered an older technology in comparison with modern build tools like Gradle, which might offer more features out of the box.

GNU Make features and specs

  • Portability
    GNU Make is highly portable and can be used across various Unix-like operating systems as well as on Windows.
  • Dependency Management
    It efficiently handles complex dependencies between various parts of the software, ensuring that changes are propagated properly.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source software, GNU Make is freely available and can be modified according to user needs.
  • Wide Adoption
    It is widely adopted in the industry, which means that there is extensive documentation and a large community for support.
  • Efficiency
    GNU Make speeds up the build process by only recompiling the necessary parts of the codebase.

Possible disadvantages of GNU Make

  • Complex Syntax
    The syntax of GNU Makefiles can become very complex, especially for large projects, making them hard to read and maintain.
  • Limited Cross-Platform Scripting
    While the tool itself is cross-platform, Makefiles can sometimes include shell commands that are not portable.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Beginners may find it challenging to grasp the concepts and syntax of GNU Make, leading to a steep learning curve.
  • Debugging Difficulty
    Debugging Makefiles can be difficult, with limited tools available to trace or step through the make process.
  • Performance Bottlenecks
    For extremely large projects, performance can become an issue, as the evaluation of dependencies might become slow.

Apache Ant videos

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Apache ANT Tutorials for Beginners | ANT Build Process Automation 2

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GNU Make videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Ant and GNU Make)

Apache Ant

GNU Make

DevOps Tools
100 100%
DevOps Tools
0% 0
Front End Package Manager
0 0%
Front End Package Manager
100% 100
Continuous Integration
100 100%
Continuous Integration
0% 0
JS Build Tools
0 0%
JS Build Tools
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Ant and GNU Make

Apache Ant Reviews

35+ Of The Best CI/CD Tools: Organized By Category
Apache Ant (“Another Neat Tool”) is the oldest tool on this list and it can be considered a precursor to Maven. Just like Maven, it was written entirely in Java. ANT uses XML to define the code build process. While ANT is primarily a JAVA build tool, it can be used to define processes and build C++, C, and C# applications.
Source: www.cloudzero.com

GNU Make Reviews

We have no reviews of GNU Make yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Ant seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 6 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Ant mentions (6)

  • Want to Get Better at Java? Go Old School.
    I will not suggest truly old-school Java programming. When I started in Java, we built Java classes with the javac command. This led to writing shell scripts to build complex projects and finally, Makefiles using the Unix and Windows commands make and nmake respectively. I remember being thrilled when the Ant utility came out and we had a pure Java build tool. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • I am about to write my first code but god has a different plan.
    Didn't know that people still use Ant for building their source code. Source: over 2 years ago
  • I am about to write my first code but god has a different plan.
    OP is just running this https://ant.apache.org/, nothing to worry about. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Better CI/CD caching with new-gen build systems
    A build system is a program that orchestrates the execution of underlying tools such as compilers, code generators, test runners, linters and so on. Examples of build systems include the venerable Make, the JVM-centric Ant, Maven and Gradle, and newer systems such as Pants and Bazel (full disclosure: I am one of the maintainers of Pants). - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • Build error when running 'nix build', running build steps by hand with 'nix develop' works
    You are missing a dependency: antlr. You have ant instead, which is something completely different. Source: almost 3 years ago
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GNU Make mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of GNU Make yet. Tracking of GNU Make recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Ant and GNU Make, you can also consider the following products

Gradle - Accelerate developer productivity. Gradle helps teams build, automate and deliver better software, faster. DocsExplore the documentation of Gradle. Find installation ..

CMake - CMake is an open-source, cross-platform family of tools designed to build, test and package software.

Apache Maven - Apache Maven is a project comprehension and management software tool.

SCons - SCons is an Open Source software construction tool—that is, a next-generation build tool.

CircleCI - CircleCI gives web developers powerful Continuous Integration and Deployment with easy setup and maintenance.

SBT - SBT is a build tool for Scala, like Ant or Maven but with hieroglyphics.

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