User: runs Ant with a complete build specification and/or +writes Ant build specifications.
+Task Developer: writes/modifies Ant tasks.
+Extensions Developer: develops extensions like a GUI, IDE plugin, + (scripting extension?)
+Core Developer: works on the Ant core
+It should be easy to write a build file for small Java programs. It should + be possible to write a build file set for large Java systems. Maintenance + of such a set should be easy (e.g. no duplication of information).
+Every build process contains dependencies (e.g. item A needs B to be available + before its own build can start). It should be possible to specify these + dependencies in a declarative way.
+Suppose a working build specification for system A is available. It should + be possible for system B to declare dependencies to (modules of?) system + A without touching the build specification of A. Ant should be able to handle + dependencies between modules which form a DAG.
+It should be possible to modify details of the actual build (e.g. classpath, + used compiler) without the need to change the build specification. This + feature is needed when starting Ant (e.g. configuration with command line + parameters) and for a subproject build driven by the build of a dependent + project.
+Often similar items have to be built. Therefore it should be possible + to provide general (template?) build specifications, and to declare for + a concrete item that it should be built according to such a general specification.
+One result of the build process should be a log which shows what has been done.
+A task should not need to know the structure of a build specification. + It would have to provide an interface (not necessarily in the Java language + sense) for the Ant core to input the necessary configuration attributes + and to execute the task). There should be a standard functionality to allow + a task doing log output.
+An interface (again not necessarily in the Java language sense) should + be provided which allows a task to get (and set?) information about it's + context in the build process.
+The Ant core should be independent from a specific representation of the + build specification. It should be possible to create a specification programmatically + (thereby allowing the introduction of new representations). The core should + do no in- or output itself. Build errors should always lead to throwing + an Exception.
+Access to the current state of a build should be available, and its modification + possible.
+ + +