----- Original Message -----
From: "James Duncan Davidson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2001 9:49 PM
Subject: Re: Parameterized "task-function"
> On 1/10/01 10:48 PM, "Jason Rosenberg" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > Right on! Be vocal about this, because the Ant powers that
> > be don't seem interested in providing the needed functionality
> > to do what you are asking. I have been getting around it by
> > using the <script> task and using javascript, etc.
> >
> > Ant is a scripting language! Right On!
>
> Ant is not a scripting language. Saying it a few thousand times won't make
> it so. If you want to build a build system around a scripting language (my
> suggestion: JavaScript using the Rhino engine), then by all means do it.
> Scratch your itch. But don't keep trying to make Ant something it is not.
>
I didn't really want to design a build system based on JavaScript using
Rhino, but was left with no choice but to do so. But I did so
within Ant!
If Ant is a complete model, I suggest you get rid of the <script> task
altogether, and use other means to satisfy the demand for what <script>
provides. Otherwise, I don't think you can safely argue this issue
from any sort of purist's standpoint. You may even conclude that what
<script> provides should not even be attempted, in which case you have
even more reason to remove <script>.
Ant is just short of about 2 or 3 procedural tasks, and it will really
be ideal. It is so close and so intuitive, for which you should be
proud. I have no interest in dropping it and doing something else.
What I want is Ant without:
<script>
<antcall>
<!ENTITY>
XSLT
and Ant with:
<execute-task>
<if/else>
<while>
<include>
and the new features promised for Ant2.0 (resettable properties!)
I'll probably end up doing these tasks myself, which is easy enough,
but I have to believe they should be included in the builtin tasks.
I'm a believer in Ant, it is what I want. I apologize if it irks you and
the other creators to see your hard-worked blasphemed in such
a way, but sometimes as creators you have set your creation free.
Jason
