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# Groovy Ant Tasks
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Apache Groovy Ant Tasks provides comprehensive integration between Groovy programming language and Apache Ant build automation framework. This library enables execution of Groovy scripts within Ant build files, compilation of Groovy source code, generation of documentation, and programmatic access to Ant functionality from Groovy code.
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## Package Information
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- **Package Name**: groovy-ant
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- **Package Type**: Maven
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- **Group ID**: org.codehaus.groovy
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- **Artifact ID**: groovy-ant
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- **Language**: Java (with Groovy utilities)
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- **Installation**: Add to Maven `pom.xml` or Gradle `build.gradle`
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Maven:
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```xml
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<dependency>
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    <groupId>org.codehaus.groovy</groupId>
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    <artifactId>groovy-ant</artifactId>
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    <version>2.5.23</version>
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</dependency>
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```
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Gradle:
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```groovy
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implementation 'org.codehaus.groovy:groovy-ant:2.5.23'
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```
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## Core Imports
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For Ant build files (XML configuration):
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```xml
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<taskdef name="groovy" classname="org.codehaus.groovy.ant.Groovy">
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    <classpath>
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        <pathelement location="groovy-ant-2.5.23.jar"/>
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    </classpath>
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</taskdef>
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<taskdef name="groovyc" classname="org.codehaus.groovy.ant.Groovyc"/>
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<taskdef name="groovydoc" classname="org.codehaus.groovy.ant.Groovydoc"/>
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```
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For programmatic use in Java/Groovy:
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```java
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import org.codehaus.groovy.ant.Groovy;
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import org.codehaus.groovy.ant.Groovyc;
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import org.codehaus.groovy.ant.Groovydoc;
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import groovy.util.AntBuilder;
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import groovy.util.FileNameFinder;
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```
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## Basic Usage
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### Execute Groovy Script in Ant
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```xml
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<groovy>
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    println "Hello from Groovy in Ant!"
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    project.properties.each { key, value ->
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        println "$key = $value"
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    }
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</groovy>
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```
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### Compile Groovy Sources
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```xml
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<groovyc srcdir="src/main/groovy" destdir="build/classes" 
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         includeantruntime="false" fork="true">
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    <classpath>
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        <fileset dir="lib" includes="*.jar"/>
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    </classpath>
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</groovyc>
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```
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### Programmatic Ant Access
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```groovy
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import groovy.util.AntBuilder
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def ant = new AntBuilder()
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ant.copy(todir: 'backup') {
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    fileset(dir: 'src', includes: '**/*.groovy')
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}
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```
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## Architecture
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The Groovy Ant integration is built around several key components:
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- **Ant Task Classes**: Custom Ant tasks (`Groovy`, `Groovyc`, `Groovydoc`) that extend Ant's task framework
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- **Builder Pattern**: `AntBuilder` providing Groovy's builder-style access to all Ant tasks
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- **Compilation Integration**: Joint Java/Groovy compilation with stub generation
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- **File Utilities**: Pattern-based file discovery and scanning capabilities
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- **Configuration Management**: Comprehensive build-time configuration and classpath management
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## Capabilities
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### Groovy Script Execution
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Execute Groovy scripts and code snippets directly within Ant build files with full access to Ant project properties and tasks.
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```java { .api }
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public class Groovy extends org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.Java {
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    public void setSrc(File srcFile);
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    public void addText(String txt);
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    public void setFork(boolean fork);
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    public void setClasspath(Path classpath);
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    public void execute() throws BuildException;
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}
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```
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[Groovy Script Execution](./groovy-execution.md)
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### Groovy Compilation
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Comprehensive Groovy and Java source compilation with support for joint compilation, stub generation, and extensive configuration options.
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```java { .api }
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public class Groovyc extends org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.MatchingTask {
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    public void setSrcdir(Path srcDir);
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    public void setDestdir(File destDir);
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    public void setClasspath(Path classpath);
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    public void setFork(boolean fork);
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    public void execute() throws BuildException;
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}
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```
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[Groovy Compilation](./groovy-compilation.md)
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### Documentation Generation
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Generate comprehensive API documentation from Groovy and Java source files with customizable templates and output formats.
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```java { .api }
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public class Groovydoc extends org.apache.tools.ant.Task {
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    public void setSourcepath(Path src);
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    public void setDestdir(File dir);
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    public void setPackagenames(String packages);
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    public void setAccess(String access);
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    public void execute() throws BuildException;
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}
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```
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[Documentation Generation](./groovy-documentation.md)
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### Programmatic Ant Access
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Groovy builder-style interface for executing Ant tasks programmatically with full type safety and fluent API.
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```java { .api }
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public class AntBuilder extends groovy.util.BuilderSupport {
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    public AntBuilder();
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    public AntBuilder(Project project);
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    public Project getProject();
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    public void setSaveStreams(boolean saveStreams);
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}
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```
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[Programmatic Ant Access](./ant-builder.md)
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### File Pattern Matching
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Ant-style file pattern matching and discovery utilities for build automation and file processing tasks.
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```java { .api }
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public class FileNameFinder implements IFileNameFinder {
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    public List<String> getFileNames(String basedir, String pattern);
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    public List<String> getFileNames(String basedir, String pattern, String excludesPattern);
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    public List<String> getFileNames(Map args);
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}
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```
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[File Pattern Matching](./file-utilities.md)
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## Types
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```java { .api }
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// Ant Configuration Types
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public interface Path {
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    public String[] list();
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    public Path createPath();
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    public void setRefid(Reference ref);
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}
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public interface FileSet {
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    public void setDir(File dir);
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    public void setIncludes(String includes);
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    public void setExcludes(String excludes);
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}
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// Build Exception Types
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public class BuildException extends RuntimeException {
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    public BuildException(String message);
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    public BuildException(String message, Throwable cause);
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    public Location getLocation();
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}
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// Project Types
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public class Project {
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    public void setProperty(String name, String value);
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    public String getProperty(String name);
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    public void log(String message);
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    public File getBaseDir();
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}
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```