
Gradle is a build automation system that is fully open source and uses the concepts you see on Apache Maven and Apache Ant.

The size of your project, your need for customization, and a few other variables can help you choose. Maven is an older and commonly used alternative, but which build system is best for your project? With other tools, such as Spring, allowing developers to choose between the two systems, coupled with an increasing number of integrations for both, the decision is largely up to you.

Gradle is one of several Java development tools featured in Stackify’s Comprehensive Java Developer’s Guide, but it’s not the only build automation tool to consider.
