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Ninja Build VS Apache Ant

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

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Ninja Build logo Ninja Build

Ninja is a small build system with a focus on speed.

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.
  • Ninja Build Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-14
  • Apache Ant Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-08

Ninja Build features and specs

  • Speed
    Ninja is designed for high performance, making it one of the fastest build systems available. It minimizes the time spent on tasks such as parsing, dependency resolution, and build command execution.
  • Simplicity
    Ninja’s configuration syntax is straightforward and concise, reducing the complexity involved in setting up builds and allowing for a clear overview of build rules.
  • Parallelism
    Ninja excels at handling parallel builds, leveraging multiple cores effectively to decrease overall build times.
  • Incremental Builds
    Ninja efficiently handles incremental builds by only recompiling what is necessary, which significantly speeds up iterative development processes.
  • Integration
    Ninja is often used as the backend for more complex build systems (e.g., CMake), making it a versatile tool within a larger toolchain.

Possible disadvantages of Ninja Build

  • Limited Features
    Ninja is deliberately minimalist, lacking many of the features found in other build systems, such as built-in support for complex dependency management and custom build steps.
  • Learning Curve
    While Ninja itself has a simple syntax, the learning curve can be steep for those unfamiliar with how build systems work or for those coming from more feature-rich environments.
  • Dependency on Generators
    Ninja often requires an external generator (like CMake) to create its build files, which can add to the setup complexity and introduce dependencies on other tools.
  • Limited Scripting Capabilities
    Unlike some build systems that offer extensive scripting support (e.g., Python in SCons), Ninja's functionality is largely limited to what its syntax and predefined rules allow.
  • Less Flexibility
    Due to its minimalist nature, Ninja may not be as flexible as other build systems, potentially limiting its use in more complex or unusual build scenarios.

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.

Ninja Build videos

+ Add

FORTNITE STW: HERE IS THE BEST NINJA BUILD (AFTER MONTHS OF TESTING)

Apache Ant videos

+ Add

Apache ANT Tutorials for Beginners | ANT Build Process Automation 2

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Ninja Build and Apache Ant)

Ninja Build

Apache Ant

Front End Package Manager
100 100%
Front End Package Manager
0% 0
DevOps Tools
0 0%
DevOps Tools
100% 100
JS Build Tools
100 100%
JS Build Tools
0% 0
Continuous Integration
0 0%
Continuous Integration
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 Ninja Build and Apache Ant

Ninja Build Reviews

We have no reviews of Ninja Build yet.
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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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ninja Build should be more popular than Apache Ant. It has been mentiond 22 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.

Ninja Build mentions (22)

  • TypeScript's Successor is Waiting, and You'll Never Want to Turn Back
    Under the hood, Rescript uses a build system called Ninja. Ninja is similar to Make, but cross-platform and more minimal/performant. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Using Make – writing less Makefile
    Ninja was super easy to pick up even after using make for some time (10+ years). GN is just a ninja generator that is optional. https://gn.googlesource.com/gn/+/main/docs/quick_start.md https://ninja-build.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: What outdated tech are you still using and are perfectly happy with?
    Really? I thought most new projects were switching to ninja[^1] and have never used it. [^1]: https://ninja-build.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What was used to build C++ programs before Cmake?
    Ninja showed real promise for a while, but then CMake grew up and people stopped seeing a reason to leave it behind. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Building and Running Pidgin and Finch 3
    Now that you have your build system all generated you can go ahead and build everything. By default Meson will use Ninja as the build tool. Ninja is similar to Make but much much faster. You can also generate additional build systems but that's outside of the scope of this post. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
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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
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Ninja Build and Apache Ant, you can also consider the following products

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.

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

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

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

Meson - Meson is an open source build system meant to be both extremely fast, and, even more importantly...

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

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