Extract common methods from Gradle build script

Question

I have a Gradle build script (build.gradle), in which I created some tasks. These tasks consist mostly of method calls. The called methods are also in the build script.

Now, here's the situation:

I am creating a fair amount of build scripts, which contain different tasks, but utilise the same methods from the original script. Thus, I would like to extract these "common methods" in some way, so I can easily re-use them instead of copying them for each new script I create.

If Gradle were PHP, something like the following would be ideal:

//script content ... require("common-methods.gradle"); ... //more script content 

But of course, that isn't possible. Or is it?

Anyway, how can I achieve this result? What is the best possible method to do this? I've read through the Gradle documentation already, but I can't seem to determine which method will be the easiest and best suited for this.

Thanks in advance!

---

UPDATE:

I've managed to extract the methods in another file

(using apply from: 'common-methods.gradle'),

so the structure is as follows:

parent/       /build.gradle              // The original build script       /common-methods.gradle     // The extracted methods       /gradle.properties         // Properties used by the build script 

After executing a task from build.gradle, I've bumped into a new problem: apparently, methods don't get recognized when they're in common-methods.gradle.

Any ideas on how to fix that?

Answer 1

Building on Peter's answer, this is how I export my methods:

Content of helpers/common-methods.gradle:

// Define methods as usual def commonMethod1(param) {     return true } def commonMethod2(param) {     return true }  // Export methods by turning them into closures ext {     commonMethod1 = this.&commonMethod1     otherNameForMethod2 = this.&commonMethod2 } 

And this is how I use those methods in another script:

// Use double-quotes, otherwise $ won't work apply from: "$rootDir/helpers/common-methods.gradle"  // You can also use URLs //apply from: "https://bitbucket.org/mb/build_scripts/raw/master/common-methods.gradle"  task myBuildTask {     def myVar = commonMethod1("parameter1")     otherNameForMethod2(myVar) } 

Here's more on converting methods to closures in Groovy.

Answer 2

It isn't possible to share methods, but you can share extra properties containing a closure, which boils down to the same thing. For example, declare ext.foo = { ... } in common-methods.gradle, use apply from: to apply the script, and then call the closure with foo().