What about this:

<import name="webapp-reusable-targets" file="commonwebappproject.xml"/>

<target name="jar" overrides-target-of="webapp-reusable-targets">

I also like the idea of pre/post targets for targets and tasks, behaves
like extensions points (aspectj style) rather than overriding this way:

<target name="webdoclet-war" pre="web-war">
	<webdoclet ... />

<target name="post-webdoclet-war" pre="web-war">
	<echo>it tooks x seconds to run web-war</echo>

Let us import other build files, point to and depend to targets defined
there, override targets and pre/post targets/tasks and you really can
write reusable reusable build file pieces.

Ara.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nicola Ken Barozzi [mailto:nicolaken@apache.org]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 10:00 PM
> To: Ant Developers List
> Subject: Re: Ant 2 et al.
> 
> 
> Erik Hatcher wrote:
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <nicolaken@apache.org>
> >
> >>IMHO it's better to use composition rather than inheritance, ie
compose
> >>common build parts in your builds, like Java use Java packages.
> >
> >
> > I'm not entirely convinced of this yet, but I still need to ponder
this
> > some.
> >
> > Example:
> > I want to "inherit" a common web app project and add, say, XDoclet
> > generation of web.xml.
> 
> import file="commonwebappproject.xml"
> import file="xdocletgeneration.xml"
> 
> >>It's more a uses-a relationship rather than a is-a one.
> >>
> >>With imports you can modularize your builds.
> >
> >
> > But I don't want to import all the pieces for every build.  I want
to
> inject
> > something into the dependency graph of an already pre-defined build.
> How
> > would that play out with imports?
> 
> Ah, "inject in the dependency graph" is a delicate point ;-)
> 
> If you want to not import everything, make an intermediate
> buildfile that imports the single parts and have each of
> your projects import that.
> 
> This means that each of your projects have access to the common build
> targets with a single import, and can create others via composition,
ie
> by creating new targets and calling the original ones via antcall or
> depends.
> 
> You are not able to inject though a target in a defined place in the
> imported tree though.
> It's specialization, what Maven does by giving hooks as pre and post
> targets to existing ones.
> 
> But this hides the dependency tree that is modifies.
> If it's pre-made but hidden it's ok, but if it's modified *and*
hidden,
> it hides what is happening and can bring to subtle errors.
> 
> --
> Nicola Ken Barozzi                   nicolaken@apache.org
>              - verba volant, scripta manent -
>     (discussions get forgotten, just code remains)
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> --
> To unsubscribe, e-mail:
<mailto:ant-dev-unsubscribe@jakarta.apache.org>
> For additional commands, e-mail:
<mailto:ant-dev-help@jakarta.apache.org>


--
To unsubscribe, e-mail:   <mailto:ant-dev-unsubscribe@jakarta.apache.org>
For additional commands, e-mail: <mailto:ant-dev-help@jakarta.apache.org>