@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ href="http://ant.apache.org/">http://ant.apache.org/</a>.
All the main Java IDEs ship with Ant, products such as Eclipse, NetBeans
and IntelliJ IDEA. If you install Ant this way you usually get the most recent
release of Ant at the time the IDE was released. Some of the IDEs (Eclipse
and NetBeans in particular) ship with extra tasks that only work if
and NetBeans in particular) ship with extra tasks that only work if
IDE-specific tools are on Ant's path. To use these on command-line versions
of Ant, the relevant JARs need to be added to the command-line Ant as
extra libraries/tasks. Note that if it is an IDE task or extension that is
@@ -47,40 +47,40 @@ href="http://ant.apache.org/">http://ant.apache.org/</a>.
</p>
<p>
IDE's can invariably be pointed at different Ant installations. This lets
developers upgrade to a new release of Ant, and eliminate inconsistencies
between command-line and IDE Ant.
developers upgrade to a new release of Ant, and eliminate inconsistencies
between command-line and IDE Ant.
</p>
<h3>Bundled in Java applications</h3>
<p>
Many Java applications, most particularly application servers, ship with
Many Java applications, most particularly application servers, ship with
a version of Ant. These are primarily for internal use by the application,
using the Java APIs to delegate tasks such as JSP page compilation to the Ant
runtime. Such distributions are usually unsupported by everyone. Particularly
troublesome are those products that non only ship with their own Ant release,
they add their own version of ANT.BAT or ant.sh to the PATH. If Ant starts
behaving wierdly after installing something, try the
they add their own version of ANT.BAT or ant.sh to the PATH. If Ant starts
behaving wierdly after installing something, try the
<a href="#diagnostics">diagnostics</a> advice.
</p>
<h3>Source Edition</h3>
<p>If you prefer the source edition, you can download the source for the latest
Ant release from
<p>If you prefer the source edition, you can download the source for the latest
Ant release from
<a href="http://ant.apache.org/srcdownload.cgi">http://ant.apache.org/srcdownload.cgi</a>.
If you prefer the leading-edge code, you can access
the code as it is being developed via SVN. The Ant website has details on
<a href="http://ant.apache.org/svn.html" target="_top">accessing SVN</a>.
<a href="http://ant.apache.org/svn.html" target="_top">accessing SVN</a>.
All bug fixes will go in against the HEAD of the source tree, and the first
response to many bugreps will be "have you tried the latest version".
response to many bugreps will be "have you tried the latest version".
Don't be afraid to download and build a prererelease edition, as everything
other than new features are usually stable.
</p>
<p>
See the section <a href="#buildingant">Building Ant</a> on how to
build Ant from the source code.
You can also access the
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ If you wish to use a different JAXP-compliant parser, you should remove
from Ant's <code>lib</code> directory.
<p>
You can then either put the JARs of your preferred parser into Ant's
<code>lib</code> directory or put the jars on the system classpath.
<code>lib</code> directory or put the jars on the system classpath.
Some parts of Ant will fail if you use an old parser, especially one
that is not namespace-aware. In particular, avoid the Crimson parser.</p>
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ that is not namespace-aware. In particular, avoid the Crimson parser.</p>
<p>
For the current version of Ant, you will also need a JDK installed on
your system, version 1.2 or later required, 1.5 or later strongly recommended.
your system, version 1.2 or later required, 1.5 or later strongly recommended.
The later the version of Java , the more Ant tasks you get.
</p>
<p>
@@ -128,8 +128,8 @@ The later the version of Java , the more Ant tasks you get.
<p>
The Ant team strongly supports users running Ant on Kaffe and other
open source Java runtimes, and so strives to have a product that works
well on those platforms. What appears to work well is Kaffe with
Gnu Classpath and the Xerces and Xalan libraries.
well on those platforms. What appears to work well is Kaffe with
Gnu Classpath and the Xerces and Xalan libraries.
</p>
<hr>
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ installed in a <b>short</b>, 8.3 path, such as C:\Ant. </i>
<h3>Setup</h3>
<p>
Before you can run Ant there is some additional set up you
will need to do unless you are installing the <a href="#jpackage">RPM
will need to do unless you are installing the <a href="#jpackage">RPM
version from jpackage.org</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>Add the <code>bin</code> directory to your path.</li>
@@ -235,23 +235,23 @@ packaged together with the core Ant tasks.</p>
<p>The external libraries required by each of the optional tasks is detailed
in the <a href="#librarydependencies">Library Dependencies</a> section. These external
libraries must be added to Ant's classpath, in any of the following ways
libraries must be added to Ant's classpath, in any of the following ways
</p>
<ul>
<li>In ANT_HOME/lib. This makes the JAR files available to all
Ant users and builds</li>
<li>
In ${user.home}/.ant/lib . This is a new feature since Ant1.6,
In ${user.home}/.ant/lib . This is a new feature since Ant1.6,
and allows different users to add new libraries to Ant. All JAR files
added to this directory are available to command-line Ant.
</li>
<li>
On the command line with a <code>-lib</code> parameter. This lets
you add new JAR files on a case-by-case basis.
</li>
<li>In the CLASSPATH environment variable. Avoid this; it makes
the JAR files visible to <i>all</i> Java applications, and causes
no end of support calls.
@@ -317,12 +317,10 @@ this. </p>
<ul>
<li><b>With Java1.5</b><br>.
<li><b>With Java1.5</b><br>.
When you run Ant on Java1.5, it tries to use the automatic proxy setup
mechanism. If this works -and it is a big if, as we see little evidence of it
doing so on Linux or WinXP-, then your proxy is set up without you doing
anything. You can disable this feature with the <code>-noproxy</code> option.
When you run Ant on Java1.5, you could try to use the automatic proxy setup
mechanism with <code>-autoproxy</code>.
</li>
@@ -357,7 +355,7 @@ JVM options. This means the following does not set up the command line:
<pre>ant -Dhttp.proxyHost=proxy -Dhttp.proxyPort=81</pre>
<p> All it does is set up two Ant properties.</p>
<p> All it does is set up two Ant properties.</p>
<p>One other troublespot with
proxies is with authenticating proxies. Ant cannot go beyond what the JVM does
@@ -390,8 +388,8 @@ Having a symbolic link set up to point to the JVM/JSK version makes updates more
<a name="jpackage"></a>
<h3>RPM version from jpackage.org</h3>
<p>
The <a href="http://www.jpackage.org">JPackage project</a> distributes an RPM version of Ant.
With this version, it is not necessary to set <code> JAVA_HOME </code>or
The <a href="http://www.jpackage.org">JPackage project</a> distributes an RPM version of Ant.
With this version, it is not necessary to set <code> JAVA_HOME </code>or
<code> ANT_HOME </code>environment variables and the RPM installer will correctly
place the Ant executable on your path.
</p>
@@ -402,28 +400,28 @@ place the Ant executable on your path.
</p>
<p>
Optional jars for the JPackage version are handled in two ways. The easiest, and
best way is to get these external libraries from JPackage if JPackage has them
available. (Note: for each such library, you will have to get both the external
package itself (e.g. <code>oro-2.0.8-2jpp.noarch.rpm</code>) and the small library that links
best way is to get these external libraries from JPackage if JPackage has them
available. (Note: for each such library, you will have to get both the external
package itself (e.g. <code>oro-2.0.8-2jpp.noarch.rpm</code>) and the small library that links
ant and the external package (e.g. <code>ant-apache-oro-1.6.2-3jpp.noarch.rpm</code>).
</p><p>
However, JPackage does not package proprietary software, and since some of the
optional packages depend on proprietary jars, they must be handled as follows.
optional packages depend on proprietary jars, they must be handled as follows.
This may violate the spirit of JPackage, but it is necessary if you need these proprietary packages.
For example, suppose you want to install support for starteam, which jpackage does not
For example, suppose you want to install support for starteam, which jpackage does not
support:
<ol>
<li>Decide where you want to deploy the extra jars. One option is in <code>$ANT_HOME/lib</code>,
<li>Decide where you want to deploy the extra jars. One option is in <code>$ANT_HOME/lib</code>,
which, for JPackage is usually <code>/usr/share/ant/lib</code>. Another, less messy option
is to create an <code>.ant/lib</code> subdirectory of your home directory and place your
is to create an <code>.ant/lib</code> subdirectory of your home directory and place your
non-jpackage ant jars there, thereby avoiding mixing jpackage
libraries with non-jpacakge stuff in the same folder.
More information on where Ant finds its libraries is available
More information on where Ant finds its libraries is available
<a href="http://ant.apache.org/manual/running.html#libs">here</a></li>
<li>Download a non-jpackage binary distribution from the regular
<li>Download a non-jpackage binary distribution from the regular
<a href="http://ant.apache.org/bindownload.cgi">Apache Ant site</a></li>
<li>Unzip or untar the distribution into a temporary directory</li>
<li>Copy the linking jar, in this case <code>ant-starteam.jar</code>, into the library directory you
<li>Copy the linking jar, in this case <code>ant-starteam.jar</code>, into the library directory you
chose in step 1 above.</li>
<li>Copy the proprietary jar itself into the same directory.</li>
</ol>
@@ -506,13 +504,13 @@ used for the remainder of the build steps. </li>
<li>Invokes the bootstrapped Ant with the parameters passed to the build script. In
this case, these parameters define an Ant property value and specify the "dist" target
in Ant's own <code>build.xml</code> file.</li>
<li>Create the ant.jar and ant-launcher.jar JAR files</li>
<li>Create optional JARs for which the build had the relevant libraries. If
<li>Create optional JARs for which the build had the relevant libraries. If
a particular library is missing from ANT_HOME/lib/optional, then the matching
ant- JAR file will not be created. For example, ant-junit.jar is only built
if there is a junit.jar in the optional directory.</li>
if there is a junit.jar in the optional directory.</li>
</ul>
<p>On most occasions you will not need to explicitly bootstrap Ant since the build
@@ -540,7 +538,7 @@ the current Ant version in <code>ANT_HOME</code>.</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="librarydependencies">Library Dependencies</a></h2>
<p>The following libraries are needed in Ant's classpath
<p>The following libraries are needed in Ant's classpath
if you are using the
indicated feature. Note that only one of the regexp libraries is
needed for use with the mappers
@@ -701,7 +699,7 @@ you need jakarta-oro 2.0.8 or later, and <a href="#commons-net">commons-net</a><
<td><a name="commons-net">commons-net.jar</a></td>
<td>ftp, rexec and telnet tasks<br>
jakarta-oro 2.0.8 or later is required together with commons-net 1.4.0.<br>
For all users, a minimum version of commons-net of 1.4.0 is recommended. Earlier
For all users, a minimum version of commons-net of 1.4.0 is recommended. Earlier
versions did not support the full range of configuration options, and 1.4.0 is needed
to compile Ant.
</td>
@@ -780,8 +778,8 @@ code will check and print the following things. </p>
<ul>
<li>Where Ant is running from. Sometimes you can be surprised.</li>
<li>Where Ant is running from. Sometimes you can be surprised.</li>
<li>The version of ant.jar and of the ant-*.jar containing the optional tasks -
and whether they match</li>
@@ -807,18 +805,18 @@ your location, then dependency logic may get confused.
</ul>
<p>
Running <code>ant -diagnostics</code> is a good way to check that ant is
installed. It is also a first step towards self-diagnosis of any problem.
Any configuration problem reported to the user mailing list will probably
result ins someone asking you to run the command and show the results, so
Running <code>ant -diagnostics</code> is a good way to check that ant is
installed. It is also a first step towards self-diagnosis of any problem.
Any configuration problem reported to the user mailing list will probably
result ins someone asking you to run the command and show the results, so
save time by using it yourself.
</p>
<p>
For under-IDE diagostics, use the <diagnostics> task to run the same
tests as an ant task. This can be added to a diagnostics target in a build
file to see what tasks are available under the IDE, what the XML parser and
classpath is, etc.
For under-IDE diagostics, use the <diagnostics> task to run the same
tests as an ant task. This can be added to a diagnostics target in a build
file to see what tasks are available under the IDE, what the XML parser and
classpath is, etc.
</p>
<h3><a name="ant-user">user mailing list</a></h3>
@@ -827,7 +825,7 @@ your location, then dependency logic may get confused.
best place to start with any problem. Please do your homework first, make sure
that it is not a <a href="#classpath">CLASSPATH</a> problem, and run a <a
href="#diagnostics">diagnostics check</a> to see what Ant thinks of its own
state. Why the user list, and not the developer list?
state. Why the user list, and not the developer list?
Because there are more users than developers, so more people who can help you. </p>
<p>
@@ -842,4 +840,4 @@ advised to do it by the user mailing list.
</body>
</html>
</html>
Jan Materne