| Developer(s) | Hans Dockter, Adam Murdoch, Szczepan Faber, Peter Niederwieser, Luke Daley, Rene Gröschke, Daz DeBoer |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 21 April 2008 |
| Stable release | 7.4.2[1] 
/ 31 March 2022 |
| Preview release | 7.5 RC1
/ 12 May 2022 |
| Repository | |
| Written in | Java, Groovy, Kotlin |
| Type | Build tool |
| License | Apache License 2.0 |
| Website | www |
Gradle is a build automation tool for multi-language software development. It controls the development process in the tasks of compilation and packaging to testing, deployment, and publishing. Supported languages include Java (as well as Kotlin, Groovy, Scala), C/C++, and JavaScript.[2] It also collects statistical data about the usage of software libraries around the globe.
Gradle builds on the concepts of Apache Ant and Apache Maven, and introduces a Groovy- and Kotlin-based domain-specific language contrasted with the XML-based project configuration used by Maven.[3] Gradle uses a directed acyclic graph to determine the order in which tasks can be run, through providing dependency management. It runs on the Java Virtual Machine.[4]
Gradle was designed for multi-project builds, which can grow to be large. It operates based on a series of build tasks that can run serially or in parallel. Incremental builds are supported by determining the parts of the build tree that are already up to date; any task dependent only on those parts does not need to be re-executed. It also supports caching of build components, potentially across a shared network using the Gradle Build Cache. It produces web-based build visualization called Gradle Build Scans. The software is extensible for new features and programming languages with a plugin subsystem.
Gradle is distributed as open-source software under the Apache License 2.0, and was first released in 2008.[5]
Gradle is primarily maintained by Gradle Inc., a company that provides support and an ecosystem around Gradle.
