----- Original Message ----- From: "Stefan Bodewig" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Because MatchingTask (or FileSet) can (or could) answer the > > question, "Is this file included/excluded from your scope?" > > But this is a runtime thing in many situations. <copy> would affect a > file that is part of a defined fileset and that is newer than the > target file - so it could say "yes, would copy it right now" but as > soon as you execute the task once, the answer will become no - as long > as you don't change the file again.
I'm not trying to determine if a Task will actually *do* something with a file when executed. I am trying to determine if a file is within the scope of a current task. > > I envision a system where the developer can assign a task at a high > > level, perhaps the project or package level. Then the developer can > > select which files will participate in the task. Maybe when a file > > is selected, it is shown all of the tasks that have been declared > > "above" it. The developer could then check off which tasks that file > > will or won't participate in. The methods that I mentioned > > previously would help faciliate keeping track of which tasks a > > particular file is participating in. > > I think this would be breaking Ant's paradigm. Tasks are the smallest > units of work, but you cannot really invoke a task, the smallest part > accessible to the user is the target. Targets need to make sure the > targets they depend on have been executed before. > > So the best thing one could do is (1) find all tasks that affect a > given file and (2) list the targets they live in to give the user a > choice of targets to execute - but not to discard some targets as Ant > may need to invoke them as part of the dependencies of another target. I'm not trying to work on execution of build targets here. I am focusing on the construction of a build script and an IDE's ability to enlist (or de-enlist) a particular file in a Task. > Is this what you'd like to see? I'm afraid I'm still not absolutely > clear on what you want, sorry. It's still evolving for me as well! :-) jim
