Conditional processing in Ant build scripts is achieved using target dependencies and properties. Target dependencies allow execution of a target only if another target has been executed, while properties enable conditional behavior based on their values.
Example 1: Target Dependencies
Suppose we have two targets, “compile” and “test”. We want to run “test” only after “compile” is successful:
Example 2: Properties
We can use the “if” or “unless” attributes with property values for conditional execution. Let’s say we want to execute a task only when the “debug” property is set:
Common scenarios where conditional processing is useful include:
1. Environment-specific configurations (e.g., development, production)
2. Optional features that depend on user input or system capabilities
3. Build steps that should be skipped under certain conditions (e.g., tests, documentation)
