Introduction to Ant

Ant (short for "Another Neat Tool") is an open-source build tool that is primarily used for building Java applications. It is platform-independent and can be used on any operating system that supports Java. Ant uses XML-based configuration files, called build files, to define the tasks and dependencies required to build a software project.

Ant is useful for automating repetitive tasks involved in the software build process, such as compiling source code, creating JAR files, running unit tests, generating documentation, and deploying software to a server. It provides a high level of control over the build process, allowing developers to customize the build flow based on their specific needs.

Ant is also highly extensible, with a large number of built-in tasks and the ability to create custom tasks. It is often used in conjunction with other build tools such as Maven and Gradle, which can help manage project dependencies and simplify the build process even further.