Ken - not all that far from
[.. With this in mind, the question really is - "Do we want to create an interface that allows for multiple *languages*, or parsers ?? ..] so let's go the next step - What are the long term goals for ANT and is Issue Three an option; the ability to EXTEND using several different means ?? [ Ken Wood wrote - Ah, but I feel I've learned something from this discussion, so I have found it beneficial, even if it is somewhat tedious :^) Anyhow I think we actually do have Three Issues that have become intertwined because they share a common word: scripting... Let me see if I can clarify... Issue One - 'ant' as a 'script language', which means we could use "if.. then... else", "for", "do .. while", etc. as statements in an "XML" file and ant would interpret them. The "winning side" at the moment is that ant should not do this... This where where some might call this a "police state" :^) Issue Two - the 'script task' which allows you to do some "scripty" things since Issue One 'bans' scripting as a core part of ant. I think we all agree that this is a good thing... Issue Three - the 'extension' mechanism. Right now, we can extend ant with new tasks written in 'java'. But, if ant supported writing tasks in other languages, say Python or JavaScript, etc., then you could EXTEND ant by one of several means, rather than just java. But, because all 3 of these issues use the word "script", I believe the discussion has become convoluted because we are seeing the word 'script', but we are not all keeping the Three Issues cleanly separated... Have I fairly summarized the 3 inter-woven threads and separated them so we can also see how we got wrapped around the axle? If so, I think this discussion began with the idea of "Issue 3", using scripting to extend ant, and devolved from there.... If I've not correctly captured the essence of the Three Issues.... well, I give up :^) ]
