Return-Path: 
 <ant-dev-return-17512-apmail-jakarta-ant-dev-archive=jakarta.apache.org@jakarta.apache.org>
Delivered-To: apmail-jakarta-ant-dev-archive@jakarta.apache.org
Received: (qmail 15730 invoked by uid 500); 11 Sep 2001 09:42:21 -0000
Mailing-List: contact ant-dev-help@jakarta.apache.org; run by ezmlm
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: ant-dev@jakarta.apache.org
list-help: <mailto:ant-dev-help@jakarta.apache.org>
list-unsubscribe: <mailto:ant-dev-unsubscribe@jakarta.apache.org>
list-post: <mailto:ant-dev@jakarta.apache.org>
Delivered-To: mailing list ant-dev@jakarta.apache.org
Received: (qmail 15718 invoked from network); 11 Sep 2001 09:42:20 -0000
X-Authentication-Warning: bodewig.bost.de: bodewig set sender to
 bodewig@apache.org using -f
To: ant-dev@jakarta.apache.org
Subject: Re: Attempt at "if-like" task
References: <5.0.2.1.0.20010830001009.025e7658@mail.qos.ch>
From: Stefan Bodewig <bodewig@apache.org>
Date: 11 Sep 2001 11:42:27 +0200
In-Reply-To: Ceki =?iso-8859-1?q?G=FClc=FC's?= message of "Thu,
 30 Aug 2001 00:19:29 +0200"
Message-ID: <m3ofoioygs.fsf@bodewig.bost.de>
Lines: 29
User-Agent: Gnus/5.0807 (Gnus v5.8.7) XEmacs/21.1 (Cuyahoga Valley)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-Spam-Rating: daedalus.apache.org 1.6.2 0/1000/N

On Thu, 30 Aug 2001, Ceki G�lc <cgu@qos.ch> wrote:

> There is no need to change the ANT architecture to accommodate
> complex boolean expressions.

Have you seen the <condition> task new to Ant 1.4?  It handles "basic"
boolean expressions quite well, but having the power of a scripting
language would probably make things easier.

When I read your mail the idea of a "script" condition formed in my
mind, something like

<condition property="someprop">
  <script language="javascript">
    foo == bar
  </script>
</condition>

using BSF and giving the script snippets the same access to Ant
properties, references and all the stuff scripts run via the <script>
task have - we would require the script to return a boolean, though.

This is not as powerful as your "if-like" task, but everything beyond
the evaluation of a boolean expression would probably better be run
inside a <script> task anyway IMHO.

What do you think?

Stefan