The knowledge cliff doesn't end with Gradle because it's infinitely extensible. So you have to understand all the plugins as well. Because there is so much implied magic happening behind the DSL, when it breaks, you don't have a clue why. Reading the documentation is often insufficient, you have to track down the source code for the version of the plugin you're using.
In general, I find DSLs make my life harder, not easier.
Gradle is my least favorite build tool ever. It's just too much magic in too many places.
This is not an endorsement of the JS ecosystem either. It also sucks, but it has wasted less of my time than Gradle (again, in the context of Android).
In general, I find DSLs make my life harder, not easier.
Gradle is my least favorite build tool ever. It's just too much magic in too many places.
This is not an endorsement of the JS ecosystem either. It also sucks, but it has wasted less of my time than Gradle (again, in the context of Android).