Ant is a build tool for Java -- like make and a number of other build tools. One of the key concepts in Ant is the idea of a task. Some tasks include:

• javac -- to compile a Java class
• java -- to run a java program
• mkdir -- to create a directory

Sound cool? It is.

So how does Ant relate to WebDAV and Slide? Well, one of the out-of-the-box tasks is a task to connect with the open source repository, CVS; as part of the build process for your project, you can automatically checkout all the source code.

That's all fine and good if you're using CVS, but not if you're using another type of repository. (CVS also requires you to have a separately-installed command line client). WebDAV, therefore, is a more generic repository interface.

Copyright © 2000 by B.C. Holmes. Last updated: July 22nd, 2000
Slide Guide logo © by B.C. Holmes and Siobhan NiLoughlin.
Slide is a project by the Apache Software Foundation.