In this article we will build a Java application that can run locally on your system. We will do this with and without Gradle.

Java Executable without Gradle

• Open Eclipse
• Create New Java Project
  • File | New | Java Project
• Right Click on project in Package Explorer
• Export | Java | Runnable Jar File
• Confirm it runs. java -jar KrakenLocal.jar

Create a simple class for testing:

package com.krakenmobi.krakenlocal;

import java.util.Date;



public class KrakenLocal {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		Date today = new Date();

        System.out.println("Time to run Java locally: " + today);

	}

}

Confirm it runs. java -jar KrakenLocal.jar

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Java Executable with Gradle

• Open Eclipse
• Create New Java Project
  • File | New | Other | Gradle | Gradle Project
• Update build.gradle
  • Specify Jar Filename archivesBaseName = 'KrakenMongoose'
  • Indicate building an executable jar jar { manifest { attributes 'Main-Class': 'com.krakenmobi.mongoose.KrakenMongoose' } }
• Build with Gradle on command line gradle assemble
• Confirm it runs. java -jar build/libs/*.jar