On Fri, Oct 6, 2017 at 10:18 AM, Mark Thomas <ma...@apache.org> wrote:
> The usual candidate for an alternative build system is Maven. The > argument for Maven is that it is more widely known and hence easier to > get started with. The argument against is broadly that Maven is very > opinionated and they way Tomcat currently does things is not consistent > with what Maven expects and some things (e.g. the Windows installer) are > well outside the typical Maven build. Therefore switching to Maven would > require a fair amount of effort. > > I'd like to suggest a third alternative: Gradle. The argument for Gradle > is that it can boot-strap itself so, unlike Ant, a new user doesn't need > to download the build tool. Gradle can also import Ant build files so we > could start with a simple Gradle script that simply imported the current > Ant script and then migrate slowly over time. The argument against is > that it isn't as widely known as Maven. > > > My own views are neutral at this point on modularisation. I don't have > any immediate suggestions for changes but I'd like to hear what ideas > others have. On build systems, I'm not convinced that the benefits of > switching to Maven justify the costs. Gradle looks promising and I do > like the boot-strapping feature. If there was consensus to move to > Gradle, I'd be willing to help that process. > > On Java 9 modularisation I'm super neutral too. Especially since it wouldn't bring anything to Tomcat IMO. On the build and source structure, I'd say the first decision should be another yes/no on Maven, since that's what everyone else has been asking about. Then if it's still a no, we can make another decision on Gradle. Rémy
