What is ws_ant command line tool

To support using Apache Ant with Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) applications running on the application server, the product provides a copy of the Ant tool and a set of Ant tasks that extend the capabilities of Ant to include product-specific functions.

ws_ant.sh/bat (or ws_ant on i5/OS) is a wrapper around Apache Ant that sets up a WebSphere specific environment and includes classpath, WebSphere Ant tasks, and environment variables. It allows the same command line options as Apache Ant. For example, a simple invocation of a build file named myBuildFile.xml could be called as: ws_ant.sh -f myBuildFile.xml. The following example uses a build file named build.xml by default: ./ws_ant.sh

By combining the following tasks with those provided by Ant, you can create build scripts that compile, package, install, and test your application on the application server:

• Install and uninstall applications


• Start and stop servers in a base configuration


• Run administrative scripts or commands


• Run the Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) deployment tool


• Run the JavaServer Pages (JSP) file precompilation tool