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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Build Automation
  4. Java Build Tools
  5. Apache Ant vs Babel

Apache Ant vs Babel

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Apache Ant
Apache Ant
Stacks250
Followers151
Votes7
GitHub Stars449
Forks449
Babel
Babel
Stacks27.3K
Followers11.0K
Votes391
GitHub Stars43.8K
Forks5.8K

Apache Ant vs Babel: What are the differences?

# Introduction
Apache Ant and Babel are both widely used tools in the software development community. However, they serve different purposes and have distinct functionalities.

1. **Language Support**: Apache Ant is primarily used for building Java applications, while Babel is a JavaScript compiler that helps in transforming ECMAScript 2015+ code to a backward-compatible version that can run in older browsers.
2. **Build Automation**: Apache Ant is primarily used for build automation tasks such as compiling, testing, and deploying Java applications, while Babel focuses on transpiling JavaScript code to ensure cross-browser compatibility.
3. **Configuration**: Apache Ant configuration is XML-based, making it more verbose and sometimes harder to read, whereas Babel uses a simple and concise configuration through its configuration file (babel.config.js).
4. **Ecosystem**: Apache Ant is better integrated with Apache tools and libraries, making it a preferred choice for Java projects within the Apache ecosystem, whereas Babel is more aligned with the modern JavaScript development ecosystem and frameworks.
5. **Community**: Apache Ant has a large community base and extensive documentation, making it a reliable choice for Java build automation needs, while Babel is supported by a thriving JavaScript community constantly improving the tool.
6. **Use Cases**: Apache Ant is suitable for large Java projects that require complex build processes, while Babel is ideal for JavaScript developers looking to write modern code that can be transformed for broader browser compatibility.

In Summary, Apache Ant is designed for Java build automation tasks, while Babel is a JavaScript compiler focused on transpiling modern JavaScript code for compatibility across browsers.

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Detailed Comparison

Apache Ant
Apache Ant
Babel
Babel

Ant is a Java-based build tool. In theory, it is kind of like Make, without Make's wrinkles and with the full portability of pure Java code.

Babel will turn your ES6+ code into ES5 friendly code, so you can start using it right now without waiting for browser support.

The most complete Java build and deployment tool available.;Platform neutral and can handle platform specific properties such as file separators;Can be used to perform platform specific tasks such as modifying the modified time of a file using 'touch' command;Scripts are written using plain XML. If you are already familiar with XML, you can learn pretty quickly;Automate complicated repetitive tasks;Interface to develop custom tasks;Can be easily invoked from the command line and it can integrate with free and commercial IDEs
Array comprehensions; Arrow functions; Async functions; Async generator functions; Classes; Class properties; Computed property names; Constants; Decorators; Default parameters; Destructuring; Exponentiation operator; For-of; Generators; Generator comprehensions; Let scoping; Modules; Module export extensions; Object rest/spread; Property method assignment; Property name shorthand; Rest parameters; React; Spread; Tail call optimisation; Template literals; Type annotations; Unicode regex; JSX; React; Flow; Node.js; Meteor; Rails; Broccoli; Browserify; Require.js; Brunch; Duo; Gobble; Grunt; Gulp; Make; Webpack; Connect; Jade; Jest; Karma; Mocha; Nodemon
Statistics
GitHub Stars
449
GitHub Stars
43.8K
GitHub Forks
449
GitHub Forks
5.8K
Stacks
250
Stacks
27.3K
Followers
151
Followers
11.0K
Votes
7
Votes
391
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 4
    Flexible
  • 1
    Simple
  • 1
    Easy to learn
  • 1
    Easy to write own java-build-hooks
Cons
  • 1
    Slow
  • 1
    Old and not widely used anymore
Pros
  • 165
    Modern Javascript works with all browsers
  • 77
    Open source
  • 60
    Integration with lots of tools
  • 56
    Easy setup
  • 26
    Very active on github
Integrations
No integrations available
Grunt
Grunt
Broccoli
Broccoli
Browserify
Browserify
Brunch
Brunch
Duo
Duo
gulp
gulp
RequireJS
RequireJS

What are some alternatives to Apache Ant, Babel?

Apache Maven

Apache Maven

Maven allows a project to build using its project object model (POM) and a set of plugins that are shared by all projects using Maven, providing a uniform build system. Once you familiarize yourself with how one Maven project builds you automatically know how all Maven projects build saving you immense amounts of time when trying to navigate many projects.

Gradle

Gradle

Gradle is a build tool with a focus on build automation and support for multi-language development. If you are building, testing, publishing, and deploying software on any platform, Gradle offers a flexible model that can support the entire development lifecycle from compiling and packaging code to publishing web sites.

Bazel

Bazel

Bazel is a build tool that builds code quickly and reliably. It is used to build the majority of Google's software, and thus it has been designed to handle build problems present in Google's development environment.

Pants

Pants

Pants is a build system for Java, Scala and Python. It works particularly well for a source code repository that contains many distinct projects.

JitPack

JitPack

JitPack is an easy to use package repository for Gradle/Sbt and Maven projects. We build GitHub projects on demand and provides ready-to-use packages.

SBT

SBT

It is similar to Java's Maven and Ant. Its main features are: Native support for compiling Scala code and integrating with many Scala test frameworks.

Buck

Buck

Buck encourages the creation of small, reusable modules consisting of code and resources, and supports a variety of languages on many platforms.

Please

Please

Please is a cross-language build system with an emphasis on high performance, extensibility and reproduceability. It supports a number of popular languages and can automate nearly any aspect of your build process.

CMake

CMake

It is used to control the software compilation process using simple platform and compiler independent configuration files, and generate native makefiles and workspaces that can be used in the compiler environment of the user's choice.

Modernizr

Modernizr

It’s a collection of superfast tests or detects as we like to call them which run as your web page loads, then you can use the results to tailor the experience to the user. It tells you what HTML, CSS and JavaScript features the user’s browser has to offer.

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