Originally posted by M.K.A. Monster:
What is the real purpose for using ANT. Is it meant for large scale applications? Or is it also meant for applets, midlets and even WebApplications.
As usual, with small projects a lot of tools become an overhead. Where the line goes there is no saying (how do you differentiate a large scale application from a small scale application anyway?). You have to list the pros and cons, take a moment and decide whether an Ant script is beneficial for your particular project.
Some benefits to consider:
- The build process is repeatable
- The build process is centrally managed
- The build process can be configured
- The build script is structured better
- Additional features can be added without hassle (such as automatic metrics, enforcing coding convention, automatic deployment, automatic backup, and the list goes on)
Originally posted by M.K.A. Monster:
And why sould I not just use the building done by the IDE I use?
If it feels good, it is good. The question is do you need something that the IDE doesn't provide? If you don't then why change anything?
The IDE features are enough for a personal project missing some "bigger picture" views such as release cycles but as these become necessary, the IDE won't flex enough. Furthermore, the next developer may not use the same IDE as you do...