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To help developers write BlackBerry applications, RIM offers the Java Development Environment (JDE), a BlackBerry-specific Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that supports various BlackBerry simulators for their various Java handsets. The JDE provides the typical features found on IDEs such as support for workspaces, projects, and the ability to build and debug BlackBerry applications all within the JDE.

However, you may need to build your application outside of the JDE, either because you prefer to work in a different IDE or because your BlackBerry application is just one part of a much larger system that needs to be built together. The JDE can generate a Makefile, but many developers prefer the cross-platform and extensible Apache Ant build tool.

In this article I will show how to use Ant to build BlackBerry applications. You can use this script to build from the command-line or your favorite IDE, and to integrate your application into your overall build process. I will begin with a brief introduction to the JDE's build capabilities, followed by how to use Apache Ant to build BlackBerry applications.

Using the JDE to Build Your BlackBerry Application

As previously mentioned, the JDE provides an integrated environment for writing, building and debugging your BlackBerry applications. The JDE can also generate a Makefile that you can use to build your application from the command line and/or integrate your application build into a Make-based development process. Figure 1 shows the "Generate Makefile and Resources" item on the Build menu.

Figure 1. - The JDE Build Menu

The result is a Makefile similar to the one in Listing 1. If you look at this Makefile carefully, you will note a line similar to the following:
@C:\BlackBerryJDE3.7\bin\rapc.exe -quiet import=C:\BlackBerryJDE3.7\lib\net_rim_api.jar codename=MyClientApp MyClientApp.rapc $(MyProject_sources)

This line shows how to invoke the RAPC compiler that is used by the JDE to build the application's executable .cod file.

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