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git_sitools_idoc / flarecast / cots / ant / apache-ant-1.8.1 / README @ d2a8c3fd

1 d2a8c3fd Marc NICOLAS
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                                 A     N     T
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  What is it? 
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  -----------
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  Ant is a Java based build tool. In theory it is kind of like "make" 
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  without makes wrinkles and with the full portability of pure java code.
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  Why?
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  ----
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  Why another build tool when there is already make, gnumake, nmake, jam, 
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  and others? Because all of those tools have limitations that its original 
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  author couldn't live with when developing software across multiple platforms. 
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  Make-like tools are inherently shell based. They evaluate a set of 
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  dependencies and then execute commands not unlike what you would issue on a 
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  shell. This means that you can easily extend these tools by using or writing 
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  any program for the OS that you are working on. However, this also means that 
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  you limit yourself to the OS, or at least the OS type such as Unix, that you 
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  are working on.
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  Makefiles are inherently evil as well. Anybody who has worked on them for any 
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  time has run into the dreaded tab problem. "Is my command not executing 
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  because I have a space in front of my tab!!!" said the original author of Ant 
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  way too many times. Tools like Jam took care of this to a great degree, but 
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  still use yet another format to use and remember.
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  Ant is different. Instead a model where it is extended with shell based 
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  commands, it is extended using Java classes. Instead of writing shell 
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  commands, the configuration files are XML based calling out a target tree 
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  where various tasks get executed. Each task is run by an object which 
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  implements a particular Task interface.
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  Granted, this removes some of the expressive power that is inherent by being 
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  able to construct a shell command such as `find . -name foo -exec rm {}` but 
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  it gives you the ability to be cross platform. To work anywhere and 
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  everywhere. And hey, if you really need to execute a shell command, Ant has 
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  an exec rule that allows different commands to be executed based on the OS 
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  that it is executing on.
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  The Latest Version
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  ------------------
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  Details of the latest version can be found on the Apache Ant
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  Project web site <http://ant.apache.org/>.
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  Documentation
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  -------------
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  Documentation is available in HTML format, in the docs/ directory.
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  For information about building and installing Ant, see
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  docs/manual/index.html
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  Licensing
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  ---------
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  This software is licensed under the terms you may find in the file 
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  named "LICENSE" in this directory.
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  This distribution includes cryptographic software.  The country in 
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  which you currently reside may have restrictions on the import, 
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  possession, use, and/or re-export to another country, of 
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  encryption software.  BEFORE using any encryption software, please 
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  check your country's laws, regulations and policies concerning the
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  import, possession, or use, and re-export of encryption software, to 
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  see if this is permitted.  See <http://www.wassenaar.org/> for more
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  information.
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  The U.S. Government Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and
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  Security (BIS), has classified this software as Export Commodity 
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  Control Number (ECCN) 5D002.C.1, which includes information security
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  software using or performing cryptographic functions with asymmetric
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  algorithms.  The form and manner of this Apache Software Foundation
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  distribution makes it eligible for export under the License Exception
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  ENC Technology Software Unrestricted (TSU) exception (see the BIS 
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  Export Administration Regulations, Section 740.13) for both object 
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  code and source code.
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  The following provides more details on the included cryptographic
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  software:
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  For the SSH family of tasks (<sshexec> and <scp>) Ant requires the
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  JSch <http://www.jcraft.com/jsch/index.html> library as well as the
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  Java Cryptography extensions
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  <http://java.sun.com/javase/technologies/security/>.  Ant does not
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  include these libraries itself, but is designed to use them.
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  Thanks for using Ant.
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                                          The Apache Ant Project
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                                         <http://ant.apache.org/>