If we were to follow this line of thought to their last consequences, We should remove <available> because we should be doing that with scripts. I see no difference what so ever between setting a property based on the existance of a file or setting a property based on a value.
To me scripting is using a cannon ball to kill a fly. Why do I need to have BSF installed and learn javascript, or netrexx or some other language AND download the interpreter for such language just to be able to make decision based on a value. With respect to whether we are going procedural here, I was very careful on the construct to stay declarative. The case statement is one of the constructs allowed in every single declarative language I know, from PROLOG (where you do it with unification) to all the functional languages and the parallel declarative languages as well. This is not more procedural than <available>. Actually, <available> is more procedural, given that it can check external resources that can be change depending on the execution order. I am offering this task because I think it is a functionality that should be in ANTs core, and not be in some optional part of ANT that requires you to download extra stuff and learn extra languajes. I hope you agree with my point of view. Jose Alberto > -----Original Message----- > From: Sean Brandt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2000 5:48 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [PATCH] New <case> task > > > Hmm, with the advent of dynamic properties, scripting > really should be the > answer for this type of problem, IMHO. Perhaps there should > be a contrib package > of useful utility scripts? > > - Sean Brandt > >
