Gradle tips and insights for Java developers

Spend less time fighting your build and more time developing software

Don’t Use Gradle Without Understanding These Kotlin Essentials

Gradle is now Kotlin first, so learn these 5 Kotlin language features to get comfortable in Kotlin build scripts.

Published 6 Sep 2023 · 7 min read · Tom Gregory

Using JUnit 5 With Gradle's Kotlin DSL

Learn this simple build script configuration to run JUnit 5 tests.

Published 15 Aug 2023 · 6 min read · Tom Gregory

10 Reasons Why It’s Still OK To Love Java

After 30 years, Java is still relevant and arguably more useful in many situations than other languages.

Published 14 Jul 2023 · 3 min read · Tom Gregory

Why Can You Write Gradle in 2 Different Languages?

The very first version of Gradle had build scripts written in the dynamic Groovy language. Why then, years later, did team Gradle add Kotlin as a 2nd option?

Published 7 May 2023 · 4 min read · Tom Gregory

Did you update to Gradle 8 yet?

A week ago Gradle 8.0 was released. I was totally unprepared. The previous version was 7.6, so this was a new major version. Yeah, I should have known that things would break. When possible, I recommend using the latest Gradle version. In this article, I highlight issues I overcame and the related Gradle features. This might help your update process be less painful. Java toolchain changes The Java toolchain forces Gradle to build your application with a specific Java version, irrespective of the version you use to run Gradle itself....

Published 18 Feb 2023 · 3 min read · Tom Gregory

3 Ways To Effectively Manage Gradle Projects in GitHub

If you manage more than a few GitHub repositories, you’ll know that it takes conscious effort to keep them updated. Your project’s dependencies and Gradle version go out of date fast, and probably without you realising. Scale up to 50+ repositories, and you’ve got a big time drain on your hands. Fortunately, GitHub has features to help. In this article, you’ll discover 3 ways to save time and get organised with your Gradle projects in GitHub....

Published 7 Jan 2023 · 6 min read · Tom Gregory

Gradle vs. npm

Gradle and npm are build tool giants of their respective Java and JavaScript worlds. But differences in how each tool builds software make it tough to switch from one to the other. To help you bridge the gap, this article explains the main differences and similarities, giving you a deeper understanding of these powerful build tools. What is Gradle? Gradle is a build automation tool, mainly used to build Java applications....

Published 31 Dec 2022 · 6 min read · Tom Gregory

What Java Developers Need To Know About NPM

For Java devs, npm can be a mystery. Jump in and learn the npm essentials.

Published 24 Dec 2022 · 11 min read · Tom Gregory

13 Key Gradle Fundamentals From A Hello World Project

In software languages and tools like Gradle, Hello World is the simplest example to get you started, before moving onto more advanced topics. But in our hurry to move on, we miss important lessons staring us in the face. Here are 13 key learnings from a Gradle Hello World project, forming the fundamentals of this powerful build tool. If you thought Gradle can be complicated, you’re right. It offers advanced features to satisfy LinkedIn, Netflix, and other companies operating at massive scale....

Published 14 Dec 2022 · 8 min read · Tom Gregory