What are some good java make utilities?

Question

I\'m looking for a make utility for building large java programs. I\'m aware of ANT already, but want to see what else is available.

Ideally, it should be able to handle

Answer 1

I use ANT all the time. This is because i develop web applications using Google Web Toolkit (GWT) which has an extra step of compiling client side java into java script. With ant, all i needed to know is how GWT works and then i orchestrate the build myself. With maven, i have to wait till someone writes a plugin. or i write one myself. There is a possibility that other frameworks and tools that dont follow the usual conventions will come up. i dont have to keep looking for maven plugins all the time. With ant, i can do whatever i want in a transparent manner. I also enjoy writting xml files. (i have to because i have to write several - web.xml, application.xml, persistence.xml, SqlMap.xml, dataset.xml e.t.c. My point _ XML is one thing you have to learn to like)