Gradle, a powerful build automation tool, follows a structured process to build and configure projects. This process involves distinct phases, each playing a crucial role in the overall build lifecycle. In this article, we will explore the Initialization, Configuration, and Execution phases of a Gradle build and provide examples to illustrate each phase.

Initialization Phase

The Initialization Phase is the starting point of the Gradle build process. During this phase, Gradle constructs the Project instance, and sets up the build environment. The settings.gradle file is a key component executed during this phase.

Example:

// settings.gradle
rootProject.name = 'gradleBuildPhases'
println "Initialization Phase: This is executed during initialization"

In this example, the Initialization Phase prints a message when the settings.gradle file is executed.

Configuration Phase

The Configuration Phase follows the Initialization Phase and involves configuring the project and the tasks. During this phase, Gradle evaluates build scripts to set up the tasks and their dependencies.

Example:

// build.gradle
println 'Configuration Phase: Outside any task configuration.'

task myTask {
    println "Configuration Phase: Inside task configuration"
}

In this example, a task named myTask is defined in the build script. All the println statements will be performed during the Configuration Phase. Notice that there is a println statement outside the task, it will be executed as part of this phase. Moreover, this is also the phase where the task graph is created for all the requested tasks.

Execution Phase

The Execution Phase is where the actual tasks are executed based on their dependencies. Gradle ensures that tasks are executed in the correct order to fulfill their dependencies.

Example:

task myTask {

    doFirst {
        println 'Execution Phase: This is executed first.'
    }

    doLast {
        println 'Execution Phase: This is execute last.'
    }

    println "Configuration Phase: Inside task configuration"
}

Updating myTask task from the previous section. When executing it, Gradle automatically executes the action specified in the doFirst closure first, and the actions specified in the doLast closures will be performed last. Gradle will follow the task graph generated by the configuration phase.

Conclusion

Understanding the flow through Initialization, Configuration, and Execution phases is essential for effective project configuration and task execution in Gradle. By leveraging these phases, developers can structure their builds, manage dependencies, and define tasks to create a robust and efficient build process.

In conclusion, Gradle's build phases provide a systematic approach to building and configuring projects. Utilizing the Initialization Phase to set up the build environment, the Configuration Phase to define tasks, and the Execution Phase to carry out actions ensures a well-organized and reliable build process.

Add the following entry to gradle.properties:

org.gradle.jvmargs='-Dfile.encoding=UTF-8'

1. Download the gradle binary from the following address:

   https://services.gradle.org/distributions/

   For example gradle-7.4-all.zip.

2. Place the downloaded gradle binary to the gradle/wrapper directory of the gradle project.

3. Update the wrapper configuration (i.e. gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties) like the following:

   If you've downloaded gradle-7.4-all.zip binary from step 1.

   distributionBase=PROJECT
   distributionPath=wrapper/dists
   distributionUrl=gradle-7.4-all.zip
   zipStoreBase=PROJECT
   zipStorePath=wrapper/dists

1. Create settings.gradle file with the following content:

   rootProject.name = 'download-dependecies'

2. Create build.gradle file with the following content:

   plugins {
       id 'application'
   }
   
   group 'xyz.ronella.gradle'
   version '1.0.0'
   
   repositories {
       mavenCentral()
   }
   
   dependencies {
       //Add all the target dependencies here
       implementation 'org.apache.poi:poi:3.5-FINAL'
   }
   
   task download(group: 'resolver') {
       doFirst {
           ant.delete(dir: 'libs')
           ant.mkdir(dir: 'libs')
       }
       doLast {
           copy {
               from sourceSets.main.runtimeClasspath
               into 'libs/'
           }
           def outputFile = "${project.buildDir}\\${project.name}-${version}.zip"
           ant.zip(basedir: "${file('libs')}", destfile: "${outputFile}", excludes: '*.class')
           println "Output: ${outputFile}"
           ant.delete(dir: 'libs')
       }
   }

3. Run the following gradle command:

   gradle download

   If you are using the gradle wrapper, use the following command:

   gradlew download

1. Create gradle.properties files in the following directory if not yet existing:

    <USER_HOME>/.gradle

2. Add the following entries for http proxy configuration in the gradle.properties file:

   systemProp.http.proxyHost=<PROXY_HOST>
   systemProp.http.proxyPort=<PROXY_PORT>
   systemProp.http.proxyUser=<PROXY_USERNAME>
   systemProp.http.proxyPassword=<PROXY_PASSWORD>
   systemProp.http.nonProxyHosts=<NON_PROXY_HOSTS>

   Note: <NON_PROXY_HOSTS> is delimited by pipe symbol (e.g. localhost|*.test.net)

   Note: If https proxy configuration is needed use the same entries except that all http will must be replaced with https (e.g. systemProp.https.proxyHost).