Pro Apache Ant is a professional-level tutorial for Java and XML developers who want to learn the open source Apache Java-based build tool, Ant. Pro Apache Ant shows you how to be productive with Ant right from the start.
Instead of writing shell commands, the configuration files are XML-based. Each task is run by an object that implements a particular Task interface. And, if you really need to execute a shell command, Ant has an <exec> task that allows different commands based on the OS.
The example application covers the entire set-up of the application, from calling database scripts to unit testing. Practical examples are used at every stage. Each task will have a concrete example. The author shows you how with other, complimentary tools like Apache Jakarta Tomcat.
This book is organized around chronological tasks instead of alphabetical functions, using a sample application throughout the set-up, from calling database scripts to unit testing.

Chapter 1: Introducing Ant.- Chapter 2: Installing Ant.- Chapter 3: Examining the buildfile.- Chapter 4: Examining Ant's datatypes.- Chapter 5: Examining Ant's properties.- Chapter 6: Building a project.- Chapter 7: Deploying an application.- Chapter 8: Running an application.- Chapter 9: Unit testing with Ant.- Chapter 10: Using Ant in large projects.- Chapter 11: Using custom tasks.- Chapter 12: Extending Ant.