JeKa for Maven and Gradle Users¶

If you are coming from Maven or Gradle, this guide will help you map your existing knowledge to JeKa concepts.

Core Philosophies¶

Feature	Maven	Gradle	JeKa
Configuration	XML (`pom.xml`)	Groovy/Kotlin DSL	Properties (`jeka.properties`) or Java Code
Extensibility	Plugins	Plugins / Tasks	KBeans (Java classes similar to JavaBeans)
Build Logic	Rigid Lifecycle	Task Graph	Method Invocations
Dependencies	XML Declarations	DSL Declarations	Text based(`jeka.project.deps`)

Concept Mapping¶

Project Structure¶

Maven/Gradle	JeKa	Notes
`src/main/java`	`src/main/java`	Standard Java structure is supported by the `project` KBean.
`src/test/java`	`src/test/java`	Standard Test structure is supported.
`build.gradle` / `pom.xml`	`jeka.properties`	Global project settings and tool versions.
Custom Task/Plugin	`jeka-src/Custom.java`	Any Java code in `jeka-src` is part of your build logic.

Common Commands¶

Maven	Gradle	JeKa
`mvn compile`	`gradle compileJava`	`jeka project: compile`
`mvn test`	`gradle test`	`jeka project: test`
`mvn package`	`gradle assemble`	`jeka project: pack`
`mvn install`	`gradle publishToMavenLocal`	`jeka maven: publishLocal`
`mvn clean`	`gradle clean`	`jeka --clean` or `jeka -c`
`mvn help:describe`	`gradle help`	`jeka --doc` or `jeka project: --doc`

Key Differences¶

1. No XML no DSL¶

Use properties for configuration and Java code for logic.

2. Unified Model for Plugins and Build Logic¶

Whether writing custom build logic or creating a reusable plugin, you use the same simple Java model: KBeans. They are similar to JavaBeans.

3. Immediate Feedback¶

JeKa compiles and runs your build logic on-the-fly. There is no "configuring" phase that takes several seconds before the build starts.

4. Highly Portable¶

Builds run on any machine, even without Java installed.

Example: Adding a Dependency¶

Maven:

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.google.guava</groupId>
  <artifactId>guava</artifactId>
  <version>31.1-jre</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.threeten</groupId>
  <artifactId>threeten-extra</artifactId>
  <version>1.8.0</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>com.google.guava</groupId>
  <artifactId>guava</artifactId>
  <version>31.1-jre</version>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>

Gradle:

implementation("com.google.guava:guava:31.1-jre")
implementation("org.threeten:threeten-extra:1.8.0")
test("org.mockito:mockito-core:5.22.0")

JeKa (jeka.project.deps):

[compile]
com.google.guava:guava:31.1-jre
org.threeten:threeten-extra:1.8.0

[test]
org.mockito:mockito-core:5.22.0

Benchmark¶

See this benchmark for performance and configuration comparisons.