Gradle

Build tool | Continuous Integration | Maven | Jenkins | Android development
Gradle is a modern, powerful build automation tool that was primarily developed for the Java platform, but is also suitable for many other programming languages thanks to its flexibility and extensibility. It is used by developers worldwide to efficiently compile, test, package and deploy software projects. Gradle combines the best features of its predecessors, such as Apache Ant and Apache Maven, while offering higher performance and modern features.

One of the biggest advantages of Gradle is its declarative and extensible build language. The build scripts are written in Groovy or Kotlin, which enables high readability and adaptability. The build process can be specifically controlled and extended using so-called “tasks” and “plugins” – regardless of whether simple Java projects or complex microservices architectures are involved.

A key feature of Gradle is its incremental build mechanism. This ensures that only the components that have actually changed are rebuilt, which significantly reduces the build time. In combination with the Gradle Daemon, a background process for accelerating repeated builds, a high level of efficiency is achieved – especially in large software projects.

Gradle can also be excellently integrated into continuous integration environments. In conjunction with tools such as Jenkins, GitLab CI or Bamboo, Gradle can automatically execute builds, run tests and generate artifacts. Gradle therefore plays a central role in agile development processes in particular.

Another area of application is Android development. Gradle has been the official build system for Android Studio for several years. With plugins specially tailored to Android, APKs can be generated, app variants can be managed and automated tests can be carried out.

In addition, Gradle supports numerous programming languages such as Kotlin, Scala, Groovy, C/C++ or Python through corresponding plugins. Gradle is also extremely flexible when it comes to integrating dependencies thanks to its support for repositories such as Maven Central or JCenter.

Comparable tools such as Apache Maven or Ant offer similar functions, but Gradle scores with its better performance, higher configurability and modern syntax. Technologies such as Bazel or SBT (Scala Build Tool) are also mentioned in the context of build automation, but Gradle is now considered the de facto standard for many Java and Android projects.

The experts at BITS have used Gradle and related technologies in a large number of projects. A selection of case studies and references can be found below.