Gradle

Gradle is a build automation tool for multi-language software development. It controls the development process in the tasks of compilation and packaging to testing, deployment, and publishing. Supported languages include Java (Kotlin, Groovy, Scala), C/C++, and JavaScript.
Gradle builds on the concepts of Apache Ant and Apache Maven, and introduces a Groovy- & Kotlin-based domain-specific language contrasted with the XML-based project configuration used by Maven. Gradle uses a directed acyclic graph to determine the order in which tasks can be run, through providing dependency management.
Gradle was designed for multi-project builds, which can grow to be large. It operates based on a series of build tasks that can run serially or in parallel. Incremental builds are supported by determining the parts of the build tree that are already up to date; any task dependent only on those parts does not need to be re-executed. It also supports caching of build components, potentially across a shared network using the Gradle Build Cache. It produces web-based build visualization called Gradle Build Scans. The software is extensible for new features and programming languages with a plugin subsystem.
Gradle is distributed as open-source software under the Apache License 2.0, and was first released in 2007.
History.
As of 2016 the initial plugins were primarily focused on Java, Groovy and Scala development and deployment.