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Apache Ant VS Visual Build

Compare Apache Ant VS Visual Build and see what are their differences

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.

Visual Build logo Visual Build

Visual Build enables developers and build masters to create an automated, repeatable build process.
  • Apache Ant Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-08
  • Visual Build Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-19

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.

Visual Build features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Apache Ant videos

Apache ANT Tutorials for Beginners | ANT Build Process Automation 2

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Visual Build videos

No Visual Build videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Ant and Visual Build)
DevOps Tools
84 84%
16% 16
Continuous Integration
81 81%
19% 19
Continuous Deployment
100 100%
0% 0
IT Automation
46 46%
54% 54

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 Visual Build

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.

Visual Build Reviews

We have no reviews of Visual Build 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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Visual Build mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Visual Build yet. Tracking of Visual Build recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Ant and Visual Build, 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 ..

Ansible - Radically simple configuration-management, application deployment, task-execution, and multi-node orchestration engine

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

FinalBuilder - FinalBuilder is a build automation tool.

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

Capistrano - A remote server automation and deployment tool written in Ruby