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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHistorical links from the original post: DevOps Training Registration form<\/a> and the original page permalink Apache Ant Training<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The original course describes an end-to-end learning path where one Java application evolves through increasing complexity. The goal is to teach how to build, test, package, and distribute software with Ant, including large-project patterns and custom task development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A typical Ant training lab follows a repeatable pipeline: clean workspace, compile source, run tests, package artifacts, and then distribute or deploy. This mirrors how Ant targets are chained with dependencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCourse snapshot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Curriculum modules covered<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How an Ant build pipeline flows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nflowchart LR\n A[Developer updates Java source] --> B[Run ant clean compile]\n B --> C[Run ant test]\n C --> D{Tests pass}\n D -- no --> E[Fix code and rerun]\n D -- yes --> F[Run ant package]\n F --> G[Run ant dist]\n G --> H[Publish artifact]\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nExample build.xml used in hands-on labs<\/h2>\n\n\n
<project<\/span> name<\/span>=\"sample-app\"<\/span> default<\/span>=\"dist\"<\/span> basedir<\/span>=\".\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <property<\/span> name<\/span>=\"src.dir\"<\/span> value<\/span>=\"src\/main\/java\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <property<\/span> name<\/span>=\"test.src.dir\"<\/span> value<\/span>=\"src\/test\/java\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <property<\/span> name<\/span>=\"build.dir\"<\/span> value<\/span>=\"build\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <property<\/span> name<\/span>=\"classes.dir\"<\/span> value<\/span>=\"${build.dir}\/classes\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <property<\/span> name<\/span>=\"test.classes.dir\"<\/span> value<\/span>=\"${build.dir}\/test-classes\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <property<\/span> name<\/span>=\"dist.dir\"<\/span> value<\/span>=\"dist\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <property<\/span> name<\/span>=\"lib.dir\"<\/span> value<\/span>=\"lib\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n\n <path<\/span> id<\/span>=\"project.classpath\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <fileset<\/span> dir<\/span>=\"${lib.dir}\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <include<\/span> name<\/span>=\"**\/*.jar\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <\/fileset<\/span>><\/span>\n <pathelement<\/span> location<\/span>=\"${classes.dir}\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <pathelement<\/span> location<\/span>=\"${test.classes.dir}\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <\/path<\/span>><\/span>\n\n <target<\/span> name<\/span>=\"clean\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <delete<\/span> dir<\/span>=\"${build.dir}\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <delete<\/span> dir<\/span>=\"${dist.dir}\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <\/target<\/span>><\/span>\n\n <target<\/span> name<\/span>=\"compile\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <mkdir<\/span> dir<\/span>=\"${classes.dir}\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <javac<\/span> srcdir<\/span>=\"${src.dir}\"<\/span> destdir<\/span>=\"${classes.dir}\"<\/span> includeantruntime<\/span>=\"false\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <\/target<\/span>><\/span>\n\n <target<\/span> name<\/span>=\"compile-tests\"<\/span> depends<\/span>=\"compile\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <mkdir<\/span> dir<\/span>=\"${test.classes.dir}\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <javac<\/span> srcdir<\/span>=\"${test.src.dir}\"<\/span> destdir<\/span>=\"${test.classes.dir}\"<\/span> includeantruntime<\/span>=\"false\"<\/span> classpathref<\/span>=\"project.classpath\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <\/target<\/span>><\/span>\n\n <target<\/span> name<\/span>=\"test\"<\/span> depends<\/span>=\"compile-tests\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <mkdir<\/span> dir<\/span>=\"${build.dir}\/test-reports\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <junit<\/span> printsummary<\/span>=\"true\"<\/span> haltonfailure<\/span>=\"true\"<\/span> fork<\/span>=\"true\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <classpath<\/span> refid<\/span>=\"project.classpath\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <batchtest<\/span> todir<\/span>=\"${build.dir}\/test-reports\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <fileset<\/span> dir<\/span>=\"${test.classes.dir}\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <include<\/span> name<\/span>=\"**\/*Test.class\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <\/fileset<\/span>><\/span>\n <\/batchtest<\/span>><\/span>\n <formatter<\/span> type<\/span>=\"xml\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <\/junit<\/span>><\/span>\n <\/target<\/span>><\/span>\n\n <target<\/span> name<\/span>=\"package\"<\/span> depends<\/span>=\"test\"<\/span>><\/span>\n <mkdir<\/span> dir<\/span>=\"${dist.dir}\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <jar<\/span> destfile<\/span>=\"${dist.dir}\/sample-app.jar\"<\/span> basedir<\/span>=\"${classes.dir}\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n <\/target<\/span>><\/span>\n\n <target<\/span> name<\/span>=\"dist\"<\/span> depends<\/span>=\"package\"<\/span>\/><\/span>\n<\/project<\/span>><\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> HTML, XML<\/span> (<\/span>xml<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\nCommon Ant commands used in exercises<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Command<\/th> What it does<\/th> Typical use in training<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> ant -version<\/td> Prints installed Ant version<\/td> Environment verification before labs<\/td><\/tr> ant -p<\/td> Lists available targets<\/td> Discovering build entry points<\/td><\/tr> ant clean compile<\/td> Rebuilds source classes from scratch<\/td> Basic build cycle practice<\/td><\/tr> ant test<\/td> Executes test target<\/td> JUnit execution and failure handling<\/td><\/tr> ant package<\/td> Creates distributable artifact<\/td> JAR packaging and release prep<\/td><\/tr> ant dist -Denv=qa<\/td> Runs distribution target with property override<\/td> Environment-specific build behavior<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n ant -version\nant -p\nant clean compile\nant test\nant package<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\nAnt compared with Maven and Gradle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tool<\/th> Build model<\/th> Dependency approach<\/th> Best fit<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Ant<\/td> Explicit task-by-task XML scripting<\/td> Typically manual or Ivy-based<\/td> Teams needing fine-grained procedural control<\/td><\/tr> Maven<\/td> Convention-driven lifecycle<\/td> Built-in repository model<\/td> Standardized Java project structures<\/td><\/tr> Gradle<\/td> DSL-based, programmable build logic<\/td> Built-in dependency management<\/td> Complex multi-module builds needing flexibility<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Audience, prerequisites, and delivery model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n