The difference between Compile, make, and build
For Java development tools, generally have compile, make and build three menu items, complete the functions are similar, but there are differences.
Compiling is the process of converting the source code into executable code. The compilation requires the file path (output directory) of the source file and the compiled output to be specified. Java compilation will compile Java into a class file, non-Java files (generally become resource files, slices, XML, TXT, poperties and other files) intact copy to the compiled output directory, and maintain the source folder directory hierarchy relationship.
In the Java integrated development environment, such as eclipse, idea, there are often three compiler-related options compile, make, build three options. The most basic function of these three options is to complete the compilation process. But there is a big difference, the difference is as follows:
1. Compile: Compiles only the selected targets, regardless of whether they have been compiled before.
2, make: Compile the selected target, but make only compile the last compiled changed files, reduce duplication of work, save time. (specifically how to check the unchanged, this will not be considered, the IDE itself will take care of these)
3, Build: The entire project is completely recompiled, regardless of whether it has been compiled. The build process tends to generate a release package, which depends on the configuration of the IDE, and the build is rarely used in practice because it is generally not used at the time of development, and is usually released using tools such as ant when releasing production. Build because you want to compile all, but also to perform additional work such as packaging, so the time is longer.
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This article is quite clear, so if you usually only modify a few files, you should use the Make command, which saves compilation time. Otherwise compiling the entire project is a very time-consuming process.
[Intellij idea: Developer tools] The difference between compile, make, and build in a menu item
