What is Gradle?

- [Instructor] Software projects small and large alike need a streamlined process for automating the creation and the release of its deliverable artifacts. This process, typically referred to as build automation, can include compiling the source code, running different types of tests, and creating a binary artifact. Gradle is an open-source build automation tool flexible enough to define and execute instructions for different programming languages and automation tasks. I'd like to provide a couple of usage examples to give you a better idea. Gradle is the primary automation tool for building Android applications, can automate the software life cycle of a Go or Python project, and produce technical documentation with the help of a markup language like Markdown or AsciiDoc. Therefore you can think of Gradle as a general purpose builD automation tool. Let's also touch on Gradle's most important characteristics and features. Gradle runs on the Java virtual machine, which means you have to have the Java development toolkit installed to get started. The central definition of the automation logic lives in the build script. It defines what can be achieved for a project. Oftentimes the logic contained in the script is relatively small. Gradle offers a wealth of plugins suited for typical project types. Want to build a Kotlin project based on commonly accepted conventions and functionality? Yes, there's a plugin for that. There's no need to write everything from scratch. While Gradle's primary user interface is the command line, IDE support is available for the most prominent products like IntelliJ Idea, Eclipse, and NetBeans. The same is true for continuous integration products like Jenkins, TeamCity, or Github Actions. To summarize, Gradle is an automation tool well-suited for building a wide range of project types, for example microservices or large enterprise projects comprised of many sub components. In this course we will lay the foundation that allows you to deeply understand Gradle's building blocks and mechanics. Other LinkedIn learning courses will expand on this knowledge by discussing Gradle's application in the context of specific ecosystems.