Gradle plugins and custom tasks

Gradle plugins are a powerful feature of Gradle that allow you to extend the build process and add custom functionality to your projects. A Gradle plugin is simply a package of code and configuration that can be applied to a project to enhance its build process.

For example, the java plugin that was mentioned in the previous example provides a set of tasks for building Java projects, such as compiling the Java source code, running tests, and packaging the application.

Here's an example of how to apply a plugin to a Gradle build script:

python
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plugins {
    id 'com.example.my-custom-plugin' version '1.0.0'
}
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In this example, the plugins block is used to apply the com.example.my-custom-plugin plugin, version 1.0.0.

Custom tasks can be defined in a Gradle build script to perform specific actions as part of the build process. Custom tasks can be created by defining a task class or by using a shorthand notation in the build script.

Here's an example of defining a custom task in a Gradle build script:

typescript
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task customTask(type: Copy) {
    from 'src'
    into 'build/output'
}
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In this example, a custom task named customTask is defined, which is a type of Copy task. The task is used to copy files from the src directory to the build/output directory.

Here's an example of using a shorthand notation to define a custom task:

go
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task customTask << {
    println 'Hello from custom task!'
}
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In this example, a custom task named customTask is defined using a shorthand notation. The task simply outputs the message Hello from custom task! when it is executed.

In conclusion, Gradle plugins and custom tasks are two important features of Gradle that allow you to extend the build process and add custom functionality to your projects. Whether you need to apply a pre-built plugin or create your own custom tasks, Gradle makes it easy to do so.