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Date: Mon, 8 May 2000 10:34:06 +1200 (NZST)
From: Mariusz Nowostawski <mariusz@marni.otago.ac.nz>
To: ant-dev@jakarta.apache.org
Subject: Re: Find (was: New tasks.)
In-Reply-To: <m3ln1nh1pi.fsf@sdv.fr>
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>> Proposal for a new task: find
>> It would look like this:
>> 
>> <find basedir=... includes=... excludes...>
>>    <task1 ... ${find.file} ${find.dir} ... />
>>    <task2 ... ${find.file} ${find.dir} ... />
>>    ...
>> </find>
>> 
>> Analogous to Unix   find <dir> -name <regexp> -exec <task>
[...]

> Good idea, I would just suggest that if the result of <find> is
> in find.file and find.dir properties, why nest <task1> and <task2>
> in <find> ? I would rather imagine something like :

> <find basedir=... includes=... excludes.../>
> <task1 ... ${find.file} ${find.dir} ... />
> <task2 ... ${find.file} ${find.dir} ... />
[...]

>> Any value?  I haven't coded one up yet.


I do not like personally 'find' model to be present in ANT. I like a
lot, the way processing of my build inputs works currently in ANT - which
is distinct from traditional 'make' and 'find'-based models. 

I cannot see when:
<task1 ... ${find.file} ${find.dir} ... /> 
<task2 ... ${find.file} ${find.dir} ... />
would be of use?  Everywhere the task can take a list of files, it itself
implements include/exclude model, like javac/delete etc.  With find we 
would have two ways of doing the same thing, which I feel would break
the rule of making things simple.  For example if I have to compile
all my java source files in one directory and then copy them to the
distribution src directory, in current ANT, with 'no-find-philosophy'
I do: 

1. compile all java files from _src.dir_
2. copy all java files from _src.dir_ to _dist.dir_

with 'find' it usually looks like:

1. find all the java files from _src.dir_
2. compile all what's in ${find.file} ${find.dir}
3. copy all what's in ${find.file} ${find.dir} to _dist.dir_

Do not tell me that you do not like the beauty, simplicity and
the very explicit way of the first (current ANT) model. Everywhere ANT 
lacks the excludes/includes model (like in current exec) it needs
simple to be extended. Apart from that, in Unix:  
   find <dir> -name <regexp> -exec <task>
<task> is performed sequentially one call per found item. In most cases 
(like in the one with compiling and copying) you do not want the task
to be performed n times, once per each found item, you want it to be
performed once with the list of items (which I suppose the propose
find task would differ from the real 
      find <dir> -name <regexp> -exec <task> ).

Do not get me wrong, I love 'find', and it would be not possible to
have 'make' without it, but I am very happy not to have find in ANT, 
and I do not feel the need for it here either. When do you need find
task to be used? and with what tasks?

-1

regards
Mariusz