Replace token in file before building, but keep token in sources

Question

I want to replace a @VERSION@ token in a java source file with a version before building (Gradle is my build system of choice).

In my current script a

Answer 1

I faced the same problem. And I was unable to find working solution. None of the examples I found worked. I believe it might to a fact, that I am new to Gradle and those examples omit some obvious pieces of code. So I looked into Gradle and found my own solution, that I'd like to share:

import org.apache.tools.ant.filters.ReplaceTokens

// Change compiler source directory
sourceSets {
    main {
        java {
            srcDirs = ['build/src/main/java']
        }
    }
}

// Prepare sources for compilation
task prepareSources(type: Copy) {
    from('src/main/java')
    into('build/src/main/java')
    filter(ReplaceTokens, tokens: [pluginVersion: version])
}

// Prepare sources, before compile
compileJava {
    dependsOn prepareSources
}