If you're familiar with Gradle's basics elements--possibly through the author's previous O'Reilly book, Building and Testing with Gradle--this more advanced guide provides the recipes, techniques, and syntax to help you master this build automation tool. With clear, concise explanations and lots of ready-to-use code examples, you'll explore four discrete areas of Gradle functionality: file operations, custom Gradle plugins, build lifecycle hooks, and dependency management.

Learn how to use Gradle's rich set of APIs and Groovy-based Domain Specific Language to customize build software that actually conforms to your product. By using the techniques in this book, you'll be able to write domain-specific builds that support every other line of code your team creates.

• Examine Gradle's file API, including copy tasks, pattern matching, content filtering, and the FileCollection interface
• Understand the process for building and packaging a custom Gradle plug-in
• Manage build complexity with hook methods and Gradle's rule feature
• Learn how Gradle handles dependency management natively and through customization
• Explore Gradle's core plug-ins as well as key examples from the Gradle community